Published: 12 Jan 2022
prism publicity image by Michelle Pegg, courtesy of Production Lines.
Storm is four years old, nearly five, and is about to go to school for the very first time. But which school?
Mum wants Storm to come join her in LA; Dad wants her to live with him in Forres; and her Mum’s PA thinks Storm should stay with her in Switzerland. No one has asked Storm what she wants.
Mum, Dad, and Tzeporah will put their cases to a children’s panel - but each of them have a different point of view of events so far. You’ll hear the evidence - and then you decide.
A twisty turny story about love, self-love, and selflessness; or is it?
Written by emerging Scottish playwright Claire Wood, prism is the latest online play from cutting edge theatre company Production Lines. Performed online, audiences will act as the panel, hearing the arguments from three different perspectives to decide Storm’s fate. Using the chat and voting function within the online venue, the audience can choose which version of the story they would like to hear at each performance.
Memory is subjective, and the three characters within the play each have their own version of events. prism explores how different perspectives can make us see and feel differently - creating different versions of the same story every night.
prism is the second interactive theatre piece from Production Lines, following on from 2021’s roulette, which was named runner up for the Innovate Award from The Scottish Emerging Theatre Awards 2021. roulette was an online dating show in which the audience were given the power to pair the couples together determining the course of the story.
With the closure of physical theatre spaces during the pandemic, Production Lines has explored how online theatre can exploit audience interaction in storytelling, using the tools available within the presentation software to explore how the digital medium can break down the barrier between viewer and performer. prism is the next evolution of that practice, allowing the audience to react and influence the story in real time.
Production Lines will present prism in February 2022 with thanks to funding from Creative Scotland’s Digital Pivot 2021, part of the Creative Digital Initiative, which supports creatives in exploring a more digitally based practice. As part of the project, writer and founder Claire Wood has been working with author and independent producer Suzy Glass, exploring the potential of online theatre.
On working with Suzy Glass, Wood said: “It was a pleasure and a privilege to spend time chatting to Suzy about the concept for this production. Her ambition, creativity, passion and commitment to making art that makes a difference is infectious and inspiring. She stamps all over any lazy notion that digital theatre is the poor cousin of its velvet-curtained real-life relation. We can't wait to bring our brand new live and performance to a screen really near you, very soon.”
Ashley Smith-Hammond, Creative Industries Officer at Creative Scotland said: ‘’The realisation of Claire’s new work is a testament to the power of creativity in the face of continued Covid-19 challenges. prism demonstrates an emerging potential for theatre delivered via an interactive medium. It will tell an intimate family story in a new way, directly involving audiences in the outcome.”
prism will be presented online Wednesday 2 - Saturday 5 February at 8pm. Tickets cost £8, with additional pay-what-you-can options and can be purchased from the Citizen Ticket website.
Production Lines was established in 2017 by Edinburgh based playwright Claire Wood. The company focuses on “Theatre that makes a statement” with previous productions covering issues such as celebrity culture in a rolling 24 hour news cycle (beauty, 2017), gender and politics in modern day Scotland (skirt, 2018) and social anxiety during the 2020 national lockdown (shrapnel, 2020).
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about the value of art and creativity in Scotland and join in at www.ourcreativevoice.scot.
