First virtual production for Halifax theatre company

Rear View 360

Square Chapel Arts Centre, March 21-25 (hourly screenings at various time - tickets £5 - check on 01422 349422)

IOU - the Halifax-based theatre company - launches its Rear View 360 project at Square Chapel later this month - an immersive 360° film version of its acclaimed show Rear View which toured the UK in 2017 and 2018. The show involved audiences in various towns across the country being moved around notable landmarks in a specially modified double decker bus while listinening through headphones to an actress telling her story. The performance beganin the intimacy of an art life class before heading out onto the streets. Now with the healp of Oculus Go virtual reality headsets, visitors to Square Chapel will be able to experience the show from the perspective of the original audience and the performer Cecilia Knapp. They will be able to feel the sensation of riding on the custom-designed Rear View bus and share the 360° stage with Cecilia as she leads them through the streets with her poetic narrative. Rear View 360 is IOU’s first virtual production in 360°, filmed in Grantham on one of the last shows of the Rear View 2018 tour. The project has been created by IOU’s Artistic Director David Wheeler and 360° filmmaker Joby Catto of Anti Limited, with a musical score by composers Susie Green and Monty Adkins. Said David Wheeler: “You don’t need to have seen the live performance of Rear View to experience Rear View 360. Rear View 360 is a condensed VR version of the show where you often find yourself sharing the stage with the performer. Cecilia’s powerful, emotional words feel as if they are being performed just for you. I’m really looking forward to seeing how audiences react to it.’

lDont Miss Next week’s Go when we reveal the winners of the Storytelling Bus Competition run in conjunction with IOU Theatre.