A Moment of Madness (2019)

Created by Katie Day, John Sear and Tim Wright

As the press gather for a big announcement on the new environmental bill, a politician’s future hangs in the balance.

Thrust into the heart of a spy thriller, you’ll navigate the political scandal of the decade. Staking out a multi-storey car park, you must use every mode of surveillance to hunt down facts and intercept evidence. As agents of the state you will expose a complex network of corruption that threatens to destroy the UK’s path to environmental progress.

A Moment of Madness fuses compelling drama with real-time gameplay to create a visceral new live experience.
In a brand new format for 2021, audiences will take part online in teams of 2-4, taking active roles as MI5 agents from the comfort of their own homes.

2021 ‘Virtual’ Tour Dates:
25-27 May 2021 – Norfolk & Norwich Festival
9-12 June 2021 – Creation Theatre, Oxford

World Premiered in Birmingham 3-6 May 2019, co-produced with Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Flatpack Festival.
2019 Tour: Watermans Arts Centre, Brentford, West London, Stockton International Riverside Festival (SIRF), Frequency Festival, Lincoln.

Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, with Birmingham Open Media, Sir Barry Jackson Trust, John Feeney Charitable Trust & Unity Theatre Trust. Photos:Graeme Braidwood.

Experience our interactive spy thriller from home in May-June 2021

May 17, 2021 by

‘A Moment of Madness’ is back! And this time you can experience it from your sofa…

As the press gather for a big announcement on the new environmental bill, a politician’s future hangs in the balance.

Thrust into the heart of a spy thriller, you’ll navigate the political scandal of the decade. Watching over a multi-storey car park, you must use every mode of surveillance to hunt down facts and intercept evidence. As agents of the state you will expose a complex network of corruption that threatens to destroy the UK’s path to environmental progress.

A Moment of Madness fuses compelling drama with real-time gameplay to create a visceral new live experience.

In a brand new format for 2021, audiences will take part online in teams of 2-4, taking active roles as MI5 agents from the comfort of their own homes.

Tickets are now on sale, and the show opens next week as part of the fantastic Norfolk & Norwich Festival.
And then another chance to catch it in a couple of weeks time when we’ll be presenting the show in association with Oxford’s own Zoom Theatre Pioneers Creation Theatre.
(You can play from anywhere in the UK remember – its online!)

Book: Tuesday 25th May – Thursday 27th May 2021: 2pm, 4pm, 7pm & 9pm

Book: Wednesday 9th June – Saturday 12th June 2021: 2pm, 4pm, 7pm & 9pm

A Norfolk & Norwich Festival commission. Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. Supported by Unity Theatre Trust & Birmingham Open Media. Originally co-produced with Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Flatpack Festival.

Photo:Electric Egg

A Moment of Madness at Frequency Festival Lincoln

October 10, 2019 by

Our final tour dates of 2019 are nearly upon us. We’ll be appearing as part of Frequency Festival in Lincoln this October. Booking is now open.

Friday 25 – Saturday 26 October 2019
Frequency Festival
Lincoln Drill Hall

Tickets £40 per car (up to 4 people)
Tickets Available – Book here

A Moment of Madness: Workshop

April 3, 2019 by

A two-day workshop for artists and makers interested in fusing theatre with collaborative gaming and new technologies.

Artists Katie Day and John Sear will share learning from the process of making A Moment of Madness, a new immersive and playful theatre experience which sees audiences thrust into the heart of a political spy thriller.
Open to artists and makers at any stage in their career – be it student, emerging or established, this practical workshop will provide hands-on opportunities to create your own mini experience.

Monday 13th & Tuesday 14th May 2019
10am – 4.30pm

BOM
(Birmingham Open Media)
1 Dudley Street
Birmingham
B5 4EG

£ 30
More information & booking via Eventbrite
http://tinyurl.com/amomworkshop

Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, with BOM, Sir Barry Jackson Trust, John Feeney Charitable Trust & Unity Theatre Trust

A Moment of Madness in development

January 10, 2019 by

Here’s a few photos of the project in development.

A Moment of Madness 2019 Tour Dates

November 30, 2018 by

Touring in 2019

Birmingham 3-6 May 2019
World Premiere in association with Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Flatpack Festival.
SOLD OUT Flatpack Festival.

London
Friday 17 – Saturday 18 May

Watermans Arts Centre, Brentford
Tickets: £40 per car

watermans.org.uk

Stockton-on-Tees
Friday 2 – Sunday 4 August
Stockton International Riverside Festival, Stockton-on-Tees
Tickets to be released later in 2019
sirf.co.uk

Lincoln
Friday 25 – Saturday 26 October
Frequency Festival
Drill Hall
Tickets £40 per car (up to 4 people)
Frequency Festival Tickets Available

Welcoming Tricia to the team

July 6, 2018 by

We are very pleased to welcome Tricia Coleman to the team, as Producer of A Moment of Madness.

Tricia Coleman is an arts and event producer with a special interest in interactive performance, digital arts practice and new commissions. She is producer for Manchester International Festival (MIF) a biennial arts festival of new commissions; and previously for Abandon Normal Devices (AND), a programme of new approaches to art-making, new cinema and digital culture. Recent projects include: the international tour of virtual reality exhibition Björk Digital by Björk (MIF); Joshua Sofaer’s Workshops in People’s Homes, featuring performative workshops in domestic spaces (AND); and Missing, a game-based interactive theatre experience for young people (with youth charity 42nd Street).

The Other Way Works is seeking a freelance Producer

February 26, 2018 by

The Other Way Works is seeking a Freelance Producer to join our team to deliver the development and 2019 tour of ‘A Moment of Madness’ – a brand new immersive theatre meets real-world-gaming experience from The Other Way Works in collaboration with game designer John Sear.

This is a key management role, working alongside the Artistic Director Katie Day to ensure that the project is delivered in a high-quality and timely manner.

For further information and application process, please download the full Job Pack PDF here.

The deadline for expressions of interest is Saturday 10th March at 5pm.

Playtesters Wanted! Help us playtest our new immersive theatre experience

January 24, 2018 by

Date: Saturday 3rd February 2018, 2-3pm / 4-5pm
Location: BOM (Birmingham Open Media), 1 Dudley St, Birmingham B5 4EG
Free but advance booking essential via this link: https://goo.gl/forms/BTIB9RVMGYIalp7I3

As we continue to develop and refine ‘A Moment of Madness’ our immersive theatre meets urban gaming experience, we are looking for a group of willing volunteers to help us test some of our new material.

So if you’re happy to look beyond some very rough edges, and you’re excited about trying out a new interactive real-world game really early in its creative development, you’re exactly who we need right now!

This playtest will focus on getting to grips with the narrative, and we will be seeking playtesters’ input into what aspects of the story are making an impact, and where we need to work harder to make things clear.

Each playtest session will last 1 hour, and testers will work as a group. There will be an opportunity to provide feedback at the end with Katie Day, Artistic Director, The Other Way Works and John Sear, Technologist and Experimental Game Designer.

No experience is necessary to take part, only a willingness to engage. (16+)

Please sign up here to book your place – thank you!

Katie Day & John Sear
www.theotherwayworks.co.uk

(If you have any further questions please email them to info@theotherwayworks.co.uk)

A Moment of Madness is supported by BOM and Arts Council England.

Project funding success for A Moment of Madness!!

by

We’re very excited to announce that we’ve been awarded funding from Arts Council England to make A Moment of Madness a reality.

An immersive theatre meets urban gaming experience, A Moment of Madness explores the morality of surveillance and our expectations of the private lives of public figures.

The project pioneers exciting new ground in the areas of digital technologies and interactive performance, bringing these together with puzzle-based gaming in a way that we have never seen done before.

We’ll be developing the production with support from our partners BOM this year, with the premiere scheduled for Spring 2019. We know that’s quite a long time to wait, but we promise it will be worth it!

In the meantime watch out for opportunities to test some of the elements in development over the next few months.

Prototype version cast list and supporters

November 30, 2017 by

The prototype phase of A Moment of Madness (2016-17) was funded by Arts Council England, and supported by Birmingham Open Media (BOM).

Creative Team
Director: Katie Day
Developer/Game Designer: John Sear
Writer: Tim Wright

Performers: Zain Ellahi (live), Jill Dowse, Tim Wright, Graeme Rose, Vimal Korpal, Greg Hobbs, Louise Latter (recorded)