Tonight I participated in The Zombie Syndrome a one of a kind theatre experience put together by Vancouver’s very own The Virtual Stage.
This theatre production is highly interactive, taking all members of the audience (maximum group of around 12 participants) in a scavenger hunt-like adventure around Vancouver, in the search for the cure for a looming zombie apocalypse.
Having sworn secrecy about this event and all (but mostly because I don’t want to wreck the surprise to any potential goers who might be reading this), I can’t go into much detail about the plot itself. All I can say is that, the day before the show, participants will receive a top-secret call on their phone (after purchasing the $25 per person ticket, that is) advising them in which location to meet. From there, a series of clues (many of which are deciphered through a smart phone’s bar code scanner) will lead the group from stop to stop, where actors -both playing human allies or zombies- will lead on the story.
At some point along the way, participants can alter the ending of the story, which is pretty cool. In my case, my group’s decision lead to the demise of humankind (I personally would have saved it, but unfortunately didn’t show enough strength to lead the team in the right path).
The show can feel a little long at times, and it is highly influenced by the dynamics of the group and the members of the group itself – I was fortunate enough to be in a group with very funny characters, which added to the experience. Not going to oversell this as the best theatre experience I’ve ever had, but it was definitely one of the most unusual ones, and a fun activity to partake in during the Halloween season.
The acting is great and make up is actually pretty impressive. Each show lasts about 1 1/2 hours and there are five shows per day, running from the 13th of October 2012 until the 31st of October 2012. Tickets need to be pre-purchased, and space is extremely limited!
*Note: As all the original shows have sold out, The Virtual Stage has added additional shows until the 3rd of November 2012! Do note that the new spaces available are higher in price than the original noted above. Space is selling out; for tickets visit http://www.thevirtualstage.org/tickets/
Filed under: Art, •BC: Vancouver
