Ludification in Theatre: The Example of „Game-Theatres“

For the last fifteen years, theatre has been using more methods and tools from interactive digital media and computer games. This has led to the rise of new forms of narration and also new relationships that occur with the audience. So called “game theatres” make use of the logic of computer games and rely on their performative and rule-guided storytelling – an adaptation from a digital to an analogue setting. Leading to the creation of larger ‘dramaturgical experience spaces’, “game-theatres” are no longer bound to a specific place and time – as was the case in traditional theatre – and often make use of entire buildings or industrial wastelands. In these theatrical forms, there are hardly any spectators, as the passive observation shifts to an active participation in the performance. In this perspective, “game-theaters” involve a radical transformation of what was previously a largely untouched triangle made up of “theatre”, “production” and “audience”. Instead, it is moving towards a form of reciprocal co-creativity that takes all participants out of their traditional roles and turns them into collaborators or co-activists, equally participating in the creation of ‘performative events’.

The concepts of participation and immersion which are characteristic of virtual worlds are of particular relevance for “game-theatres”, as the two case studies included in this lecture will demonstrate.

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