Virtual reality production of Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II released

A virtual reality production of Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II has been made available online to stream.

The Barn Theatre in Cirencester have teamed up with Relative Motion for an eight-minute virtual reality experience of Scene 4 from Christopher Marlowe’s historic LGBTQ+ drama Edward II.

The production reimagines this historic and iconic gay love story for a 21st century audience. Edward II VR is crafted for a Single-Audience-Member (SAM) who sits at the very centre of the story experience.

Available from today to watch for free online via YouTube here, Edward II VR brings passion, intense drama, compelling performances and a stirring new score into the audience member’s phone/tablet and/or VR headset.

Edward II VR stars Nathan Ives-Moiba as Edward, Richard Pryal as Gaveston and Georgia Silver as Isabella and features an original score by Tom Adams. The production was captured on the stage at the Barn Theatre.

A synopsis of the virtual reality production shares: “Edward II cemented Marlowe’s position as both a maverick playwright and a challenger of the status quo. By ‘staging the story’ around SAM, this new production highlights the parallels between homophobia, corruption and greed at the heart of power in Marlowe’s era and the intolerance and bias in the world today.

“Using the empathetic power of VR, Relative Motion and The Barn Theatre want to remind audiences that, up-close, we are all the same.”

Edward II VR, produced by Relative Motion in association with the Barn Theatre, features creative direction by Christopher Lane, technical direction by Andy Purves, production direction by Chloe Miller Smith, casting by Harry Blumenau and technical support from the Barn Theatre’s technical team: Chris Cleal, Benjamin Collins and Sami Wood.

The production is supported by Arts Council England, Wired Sussex and Digital Catapult.