The first production for 2000, Culture Shock was a performance/installation intended to challenge its audience through content and form. The piece was an interactive maze-cum-game show which explored a number of relevant issues (ascertained through early discussions with the cast) such as; the culture of competition; authority and rebellion; perception; the ‘real’ vs the ‘virtual’; the role of technology in everyday life. Participants began their experience as audience members at a game show and were then divided into groups, given a specific puzzle to solve and guided into the installation consisting of a number of rooms forming a maze. A time constraint was set and in their groups they had to solve their individual puzzle task, return to the game show set and combine their solutions with those of the other groups emerging from the maze to create a larger outcome. The audience’s personal experience of the theatrical event was highlighted and become the one of the subjects of the piece.
Over 40 St Martins Members were involved in a number of various workshops, brainstorming sessions and discussions which lead to the final creation and execution of the piece. A cast of nine performed in the work itself.
