Imagine if you had to go to the movies to see a film. How many movies or episodes would you watch per year?
Now, imagine if there was something like Netflix for theatre. A way to experience the stage and the audience around you in your own living room. That’s where 2D recording has failed, but VR and an immersive 3D experience deliver.
Suddenly, theatre becomes an everyday alternative. After the last episode of Succession, what should I watch tonight? That famous play in Berlin? Or that sold-out shocker of my neighborhood theatre?
The casualness of the experience and the access to a global library will change the consumption of theatre in ways we can only imagine.
We think this will make theatre more popular. And still, one day, more tickets will be sold for the VR versions. Why? Because it is so convenient. You can just turn it on.
To illustrate the change, let’s look at another recently digitized form of communication: Podcasts have made talk radio more popular than ever; who would have thought!
Actually, the closest peer to our VR theatre is probably Spotify. They cover both the greatest hits and an endless library of songs by local heroes and specific genres. In theatre, on one end, there are the National and Royal theatres, the Broadways, and the West Ends. On the other, there are thousands of local professional theatres around the world that most of us have never heard of… Until it’s all suddenly accessible.
A delicious example of the randomness of tastes is the South American liking for heavy metal. Old metal bands still tour Argentina and perform in front of huge audiences. There will be unpredictable cultural phenomena when people get to experience theatres from different cultures.
Theatre is one of the few remaining art forms that still haven’t found its digital way to the world. The reason is that 2D recordings kill the experience. After seeing it with our own eyes, we know that theatre works in VR. And it will be popular.