LEGENDARY football manager Jim McLean was notorious for his glum demeanour and angry outbursts.
And now there is a unique chance to find out what it was like to be on the receiving end of one of his fiery tirades – from the safety of your own armchair.
Thanks to a world-leading development spearheaded by an Edinburgh film company, the hit play Smile about McLean can be experienced in virtual reality using just a cheap headset and a smartphone.
As theatres struggle to recover from the pandemic and cost of living crisis, Dundee Rep has taken another bold move to make their work more accessible by embracing the new technology.
The development means people can not only experience a show while sitting at home but could also help theatres increase ticket sales, which have dropped around 25% on average following the pandemic.
The innovation is a world-first and the “pandemic baby” of husband and wife team, Kelman and Gemma Greig-Kicks, whose nine-year-old company, Neon8, makes films for the third sector and the performing arts.
It is very much a passion project for the pair whose main aims are to help venues and production companies recover, as well as share the theatre experience with those who may be unable to see a live show.
Many theatres switched to digital productions during the pandemic but this takes the concept further by making audiences feel as though they are really there, rather than watching on a screen.
The new platform, Box Office VR, is already making waves, resulting in Neon8 winning the innovation prize at the prestigious Creative Edinburgh Awards, after two years of hard work by Gemma and Kelman to create it.
“It’s been really exciting but also absolutely daunting and there have been lots of moments where we wondered what we had taken on,” Gemma told the Sunday National.
“However we wanted to introduce folk to the joy of this gentle, accessible yet immersive VR experience – one that brings you right into the theatre space without actually being there. And while many people think VR is just for gamers or the totally tech-savvy, Neon8’s VR work for theatre does not require you to be up on your feet or taking part – nor do you need a dedicated VR headset to view it.”
Kelman pointed out that their model was an ideal way to try out VR without forking out a lot of money for equipment.
“As well as people with proper VR headsets being able to use the site, this also allows you to use a dummy headset, costing around £20, that you slip your phone into and using the Box Office VR app you can go into VR mode and see it all,” he said. “It enables people to experience it from a very low access point in terms of outlay.
“Most of the industry is moving away from mobile VR because it doesn’t make enough money but it still works for film viewing and we really believe people need time to see if they like VR. We are thinking of people who either don’t want to, or can’t afford to, fork out on a VR headset because they think it will be a waste of money.
“With this they can do something on their phone with a dummy headset and find out if they really like it.”
Kelman added: “We film either very close to the stage or at the very front of it, so you have a view that you would not normally have. Nothing replaces going to the theatre but you can see something a little bit different with the VR version.”
There have previously been a couple of experiments with 360 degree VR theatre productions but the Neon8 model is 180 degrees to give people easier access while still providing an immersive experience.
It is also pay per view rather than a subscription service, with around 80% of the money going back into the industry and the remainder being used to maintain the platform.
Those wanting to try it out do have the initial outlay for the headset but it can be shared with others and there will soon be a number of productions on the platform, including Smile.
“A lot of people said it had to be subscription based, like Netflix, but we didn’t want that because that’s just feeding into the big tech model,” said Gemma. We want this to be malleable and we want the industry to realise that it is not about us taking their product and making money from it because that needs to go back into the industry and the work. If you start cutting off where the actual work comes from then you are not going to survive either.
“The industry is really suffering and it is not easy to bounce back as there is still a huge amount of concern about returning to spaces, despite venues’ huge efforts to alleviate those concerns. This is a response to that. It doesn’t replace the actual experience of going to a theatre but it can sit alongside it.”
Liam Sinclair, executive director and joint CEO at Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre, said: “We are so excited to be collaborating with Neon8 on creating this experience for audiences. Over the past two years Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre have embraced digital innovation as a way of creating new forms and points of access for our audiences.
“In September we were delighted to have won the Digital Innovation Award at the Dundee and Angus Chambers of Commerce Awards, and so launching Smile VR into the world builds on that momentum.”
Access to the VR experience of Smile will be available from February 23.
