guardian.co.uk: A London theatre is to "hack" the voicemails of members of the public, in the first theatrical response to the phone-hacking scandal that engulfed the News of the World earlier this year.
Theatre503, a Battersea venue focusing on new writing, will present six new plays under the collective title Hacked, each of which will be inspired by the messages left on an individual's mobile phone.
4 comments:
I wasnt sure where I expected this article to head. But I am definitely intrigued by where I ended up. First of all I think that it is an interesting new way to mix media and theatre. Secondly, I can appreciate the juxtaposistion that will be created by the difference and variety of these messages. I dont think we realize how personal voicemails can be. Because they could be from someone you love (or loved) or from a family memeber or it could be very grave news. Just thinking of the variety of messages that I leave for other people, makes me think. I am also interested to see what the playwrights come up with from these messages, comedies? Dramas? HOrror stories? But I guess why this is an interesting route because they can go so many places with it.
I think this is a really unique experiment in theatre. Having such bizarre constrictions will make the plays inherently interesting, if for no other reason than to examine how they converted the original voicemails into a story. I think that keeping the pieces at a ten minute maximum is also smart. Not all of the voicemails they receive will be entirely suited to a fantastic play, so a time limit will ensure no one gets too bored.
I like the way this relates to the News of the World without being completely obvious. It evaluates the core issues without beating the viewers over the head with it.
I think this is a marvelous idea to be put to the stage! At first glance of the title, i too was a bit confused- expecting this to be a review of a comedic theatrical phone pranking spoof, rather than a candid documentation of something we overlook everyday. The very fact that voicemail messages are often left at a vulnerable state, when a friend or family needs something, wants something, or feels it necessary to disclose something, makes this grouping of "material" all the more interesting. And because voicemails are direct messages from one person to another, the fact that a third party (the audience) might be able to "eavesdrop" on such an intimate conversation adds an intriguing element to this newly toyed with human interaction. I for one would love to see the product of this new theater piece!
As part of Capital Fringe in DC this summer one software developer turned actor made an iPhone app that allowed a central server to access the Facebook accounts of the audience members (the audience members of course had to download the app and accept the permissions to do so). The performers then used status updates, profile info, pictures, videos, etc. from profiles and created characters and a plot. Audience members couldn't update their info during the show so there wasn't much room for reciprocal interaction, but untimely comments from friends could lead to embarrassing plot twists. The show not only embraced social media in a new form of improv, but called attention to the security risks inherent with social media and how much info you can really get about a person from a seemingly playful Facebook page. As more and more theatres use Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, and other social medias I wonder if personal info might be mined for considerations like season planning and special programming.
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