Frogman

‘Part play, part VR experience’ is a description we will be seeing a lot more of in the next few years as the nascent form attempts to reach a wider audience and find its feet. Frogman did a good job of settling a newcomer in with plenty of time to adjust one’s set, and a calming, HAL-like voice explaining how the experience would play out.

The plot concerned a missing person mystery, framed by a vague notion that we were the jury but without any explanation or payoff for that conceit. The play consisted of three settings: an older Meera Clarke (brilliantly, twitchingly portrayed in the flesh by Tessa Parr, the only actor present), a diving sequence (strangely under-utilising the underwater setting by filling our field of vision with people rather than creatures or vistas) and a flashback to Meera’s childhood.

The flashbacks formed the core of the VR experience and the play as a whole, with children gamboling around a bedroom at different times, shedding light on their relationships and their roles in the unfurling drama. The ‘90s setting was well realised in a convincing child’s bedroom: the agency of being able to take in the 360 degree scene was good fun and the ability to nose around felt relevant to the investigative nature of the plot. However, a few too many fluffed lines and glances at the camera spoiled the immersion somewhat.

An enjoyable but slightly disjointed and conceptually muddled experience.

The Old Market, 6 September 2017
Rating:
Joe Fuller