Theatre On tour and currently stopping off at Birmingham Library is the Theatre Jukebox, an experiment in lo-fi audio visual non-linear narrative storytelling. As the creators, Stand + Stare Collective explain on their website, "Theatre Jukebox is an arcade-style cabinet that tells stories in a unique way. Take a seat, slip on some headphones, and watch as each photograph comes to life." As you can see from the photographs and the video below, you sit in a wooden contraption (constructed by artist Jo Lathwood), select a postcard from those provided and then listen to a snatch of story through some headphones. The version in Birmingham takes its inspiration from the The Wingate Bett Transport Ticket Collection, which "houses over one million tickets used on railways, buses, ships, airlines, ski-lifts and trams worldwide, dating from 1840 to 1977" weaving a story about a lovelorn lady visiting far flung places across three decades. In theory, the viewer/listener is supposed to choose the cards at random, but because they are travel tickets, they're date stamped and this is the order I listened and found a story with a beginning, middle and rather poignant end (though I think the final card is missing). If you do visit, I'd advise you not to read the accompanying information board too closely and simply dive in, allowing the visuals as they sweep across the table and the voice of actress Zara Ramm (whose best known for playing Mum in Grandpa in my Pocket) carry you away to far off places and times. Superb.
Theatre Jukebox from Stand + Stare on Vimeo.
Theatre Jukebox presents A World Elsewhere from Stand + Stare on Vimeo.
Theatre Jukebox prototype from Stand + Stare on Vimeo.
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