The pandemic has ravaged the theatre industry across the world – but one group of intrepid Fallout 76 players came up with a cool idea to help the show go on.
The Theatre Company, a theatre troupe that operates within the world of Fallout 76, staged a production of Macbeth live in-game, and streamed it on Twitch with the help of machinima experts Fallout Five-0.
One member of the team designed a theatre inside the game that was modelled after Shakespeare’s Globe, calling it The Grafton Globe theatre. Others worked on lighting and sound design. The script, which was adapted to come in at under 40 minutes, was performed live by a group of actors, with lines delivered over proximity chat as the characters acted scenes out in real time.
There was even a backstage area in which players changed wardrobe and listened for cues.
This is what it looked like backstage during the live on-stage performance of Macbeth.
Actors changing wardrobe, listening to cues, preparing to take the stage.
A true performance! ?#fallout76 pic.twitter.com/cUkT6rmV6k
— The Theatre Company ? (@76Theatre) October 25, 2021
Check it out in the video below:
“During COVID-19, theatres around the world have had to close, so our group of drama-loving video game players took to the stage in-game, held rehearsals, and performed live to an audience in-game and streamed online,” Northern Harvest, who directed the play and assumed the role of Young Siward, told Eurogamer over email.
“This also adds commentary to how the arts survive during crisis: whether in post-apocalyptic Appalachia, or during a COVID-19 pandemic in real life. The arts find a way to survive.
“I’m not sure if Shakespeare’s Macbeth has ever been live-performed in a video game before (certainly not in Fallout).”
The Theatre Company has in the past staged scenes from the likes of Hamlet, A Clockwork Orange and West Side Story within Fallout 76, but Macbeth is its most high-profile production yet.
What’s next? It’s working on Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker at its version of the Bolshoi.
Working on Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” at our Bolshoi Theatre. ?? pic.twitter.com/TeHBfZ3Wkj
— The Theatre Company ? (@76Theatre) November 6, 2021
