SELECT A QUEST offers audiences an 'eclectic and innovative theatrical experience in the comfort of their own home'. Meet Bigfoot, mutant plants and a swamp monster who works in HR plus many more in a vibrant mix of mystery, silliness and fun.
Billed as an 'entertaining mission suitable for the young and young at heart (age recommendation 6+)', audiences are invited to navigate through 27 scenes set across six levels, 'leading to one winner, one curse and a whole lot of crazy deaths.'
The team at Pins and Needles Productions set themselves a challenge to create a makeshift, comic adventure which encourages audiences to make choices and interact with the theatre on their screens. The cast were asked to find costumes and props from around the house and the whole process from the writing, to filming, to editing has been completed in just 72 hours.
Emma Earle, Co-Artistic Director at Pins and Needles Productions, said: 'This period of lockdown has seen people respond in extraordinarily diverse, creative ways, using arts and culture to provide a much-needed sense of release and community. We decided to make SELECT A QUEST to give both our audience and our community of artists an opportunity to be involved in something playful and positive in such a challenging time.
The idea to complete the project in only 72 hours was a way of freeing us all from the long lead times we’re used to in making new work. In only two days, Bea Roberts turned around a mind-bendingly brilliant script which the talented cast then interpreted in their various lockdown environments, coming up with inspired sets and costumes, learning lines and recording the films. On the final day, we pieced it all together with Jack Drewry, our composer, laying down original music tailored to the 27 different vignettes. The result, deliberately low-fi yet highly theatrical, is brimming with heart, silliness and humanity. All these faces, each with their own story, taking us into an alternative space and reminding us how imaginative people can be.'
SELECT A QUEST is the third collaboration between Bea Roberts and Pins and Needles Productions, and follows their UK Theatre award-winning production Little Mermaid at the egg in Bath in 2017. The project has been supported by Stornaway, a revolutionary new production tool designed for writers and producers to create and deliver interactive films easily. Without the support of the Arts Council England Emergency Fund this project would not have been possible.
Creative Team:
Writer: Bea Roberts, Composer: Jack Drewry, Director: Emma Earle, Editor: Lee Rayner, Art Director: Zoe Squire, Illustrator: lina Kuula, produced by Pins and Needles Productions.
Cast: Alison Fitzjohn, Caroline Garland, Robin Hemmings, Harry Humberstone, Timothy O’Hara, Roxanne Palmer, Jessica Temple, Anna Wheatley and Simon Yadoo.
Pins and Needles Productions is an award-winning, female-led theatre company in Bristol, based on a creative partnership between Director Emma Earle and Designer Zoe Squire. Known for their ambitious and innovative storytelling, they have enjoyed national and international success. Previous work includes their magical adaptations of Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas and The Bear; and musical adaptation of Mr Popper’s Penguins, which played in the West End, Broadway and toured the US. Their recent 5* Olivier-nominated production, Oi Frog and Friends!, transferred to the West End for Christmas 2019.
SELECT A QUEST is available for free online at www.selectaquest.co.uk