Immersive theatre gives power to the audience
IN A bid to raise money for charity, Action Adventure Theatre Productions have decided to start their second year in style by bringing a unique twist to the interactive murder mystery and pantomime genres, by ramping up their shows once more whilst raising money for a good cause.
Following a successful run of original murder mystery performances in their first year, partners Natasha and Jenny wanted to give the audience even more power; promising immersion and interactivity like never before.
The audience of their new murder mystery event, The Poisonous Pantomime, will have the opportunity to save the life of one of the victims in the show. That is, only if they can figure out who it is and mix the correct antidote in time. The show will take place at The Black Swan Inn in Shepshed on February 19 - and £5 from each ticket will be donated to the Brit- ish Legion charity.
Natasha said: “We wanted our audience to be able to change the outcome, so we thought, why not allow them to save one of the victims?”
Towards the end of the performance, the audience will be asked to identify the final victim before mixing an antidote. If they are correct, the victim lives. But if they are wrong...
To top it off, Jenny and Natasha - who also specialise in live spe- cial effects - are setting themselves a new challenge: a live transformation and a non-pyrotechnic smoke bomb. As the show is performed right in among the audience, these effects can happen mere inches away from them, and so the challenges the two face, are doubled.
Jenny said: “The audience can see everything, and on top of that we have their safety to think about. Last year we had to [fake] blow the back of someone’s head off and hit only the actor behind him. It was certainly a challenge, but we managed it.”
The company was started a year ago after Natasha was forced to give up her previous job due to a disability. Unable to find other suitable work, she teamed up with other people facing similar issues as herself and bought Action Adventure Theatre Productions to life with no investment and no budget.
Natasha and Jenny formed their partnership 12 months ago, and have been growing ever since. Recently, they have taken on a new team member who is also struggling to find work due to a disability. They hope to show people that disability isn’t the end, and that with the right help and support, anything is possible, even if you have no money to start with.