A new creative project is bringing a type of interactive theatre to the people stuck at home in lockdown.
The Isklander trilogy is said to blur the boundaries of fiction and reality via a story that people ‘play’ online.
Co-creators Ollie Jones and Clem Garrity. Photo: Supplied.
Co-creator Ollie Jones says he and his co-founder had been doing live work for a few years when the pandemic hit.
"[We] found ourselves at a bit of a loss. But we've always had the appetite to do our own independent project, and we though maybe lockdown is the time to try something new," Jones tells Jesse Mulligan.
Jones describes Isklander as "a series of interactive, immersive theatre meets escape room, meets video game, meets online investigation narrative".
The game is designed so you can play remotely with your friends or family, or together in the same room with them, he says.
You could also do it single-handedly if you're willing to challenge yourself a bit, he says.
"You join a video call, and you step into this residents' association meeting of a block of flats in the UK and the head of this residents' association says the most important piece of business concerning her this week is the sudden disappearance of one of her neighbours.
"She basically asks if anyone on the call is able to look in to try and find out what might've happened to her or where she's gone and that's kind of all your given.
"Then it's up to you to use your mouse and natural instincts about how to use the internet to start your hunt.
"From there, you're dragged into a surprising story about ... shadowy organisations, ancient real history, meets made-up narrative that we've put together in a kind of Da Vinci code meets inception."
There were a lot of trials undertaken with test audiences to get it right, Jones says.
"A lot of people when they start the game, don't know what's real and don't know what's not and that's a feeling that carries on throughout, not just in the people you meet but also in the places you visit and the tasks you're asked to do.
"As you dig into these websites and stories, we really want you to wonder how much of it we've put there and how much of it is pre-existing and you feel like you're actually uncovering a real conspiracy, a real dark secret."
Although it was only supposed to run for three weeks, its popularity kept it going and pushed the audience they amassed to 65,000 to date, he says.
"The Guardian over here, The Stage over here gave us really good reviews which helps us massively as we launched it in the UK and hopefully the audiences down under will feel the same.
"The reception has been really positive. I think it's just been a really interesting and unexpected activity that's been very accessible in lockdowns and also just as enjoyable out of lockdowns."
To play the game, people need to book tickets through their website and state how many are playing, which will determine the price.
There can be up to six players. When your booking timeslot approaches, you’ll be sent a link to connect to a call – so you’ll need internet.
While there are three storylines, you don’t need to play them all in one day (each lasts about an hour to an hour and a half).
Jones says you can get the most narrative satisfaction by playing the narratives in this order: Plymouth Point, Mermaid’s Tongue, and The Kindling Hour.
