The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) have announced that acclaimed actor, writer and musician Nick Cave will be joining the cast of Dream.
Best known for leading the band Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Cave joins the cast as the pre-recorded Voice of the Forest, an unseen character who will function as the play’s narrator. With its use of motion capture, Dream explores how audiences could experience live performance in the future alongside in-person visits to performance venues once they are allowed to re-open.
Inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the performance gives a unique VR experience of a virtual forest that allows audience members to control the narrative and interactions between characters from wherever they are in the world via their mobile, desktop or tablet via the Dream website. This spectacle uses the latest gaming and theatre technology which runs simultaneously alongside an interactive symphonic score that responds to the actors’ movements.
The play is a collaboration between the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), Manchester International Festival (MIF), Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF) and Philharmonia Orchestra. Jane Beese, head of music at the MIF, said “music is an integral part of the Dream experience and we’re thrilled that Nick Cave’s voice will sit alongside Jesper Nordin and Esa-Pekka Salonen’s living, dynamic score.
“With his mystical voice and dark vocal tones, Cave is the perfect person to represent the forest, helping audiences traverse the otherworldly land of Dream.”
Further information is available on the RSC’s website.
Words by Danielle Saunders.
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Image: Christie Goodwin // © RSC