Three's Company Blog

Been to see Auditorium yet?

If you've been by, and are one of the many that have been taking photos (or videos), send them on to us at photos@threescompany.co.uk.
We'll putting up a webpage with the best shots shortly.

Yet another reason to come see our latest five star show!

Labels: auditorium, photos, website

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Well our hoodies have finally arrived and they look great! They might be a little late* but they're still earlier than last year... and look even better!

Thanks to Haz Al-Shaater for handling most of the design, and to the ever-lovely Elderfield Studios for printing them so beautifully, quickly, and at such a great price.

We've also got a number of limited edition Auditorium T Shirts for sale at the bargain price of £7.50. Drop us a line if you'd like to get hold of one - all proceed go towards funding future productions.

*I should probably point out that it Yaz's fault they're late, not the printers!

Labels: 2008 tour, auditorium, edinburgh, photos

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This is the first in a series of blog posts about interactivity and the theory behind Auditorium.

What do we mean when we claim to be the first fully interactive farce? Well of course it all comes down to your definition of interactivity - and whether you can quantify the level of interaction in a piece. We're trying to avoid what I call the four pitfalls of interactivity, based on the work I've seen and studied over the last few years.

For us, the challenge we set ourselves was to create a consistent narrative with a decent story arc and compelling development whilst still allowing the audience to truly affect the show. Moreover, we wanted to do this without ever stepping out of character or breaking the illusion, and without limiting the audience to the constraints of finite 'multiple choice' theatre.

There's a lot of theatre out there where you can interact with the characters - 'immersive' or 'site specific' theatre, and works by the likes of dreamthinkspeak or Punchdrunk. In these works your individual 'narrative' (eg experience) might be interactive, but the story of the piece is largely untouched by your actions. There's also increasing amounts of theatre where you can interact with the narrative - works inspired by the 'choose your own adventure' series, works where you can vote for an ending, even arguably impro shows. But in these cases you only deal with out of character performers, narrators, or technology, and not the characters themselves.

Perhaps what makes Auditorium different is that we're trying to make a piece where you can interact with both the characters and the story – so you can play the story rather than just watch the play.

If you've any thoughts on these ideas, or seen the play and wish to comment on whether we've achieved this, please tell us your thoughts in the comments below. We’ll be writing soon about our 'Four Pitfalls' of interactivity, and about some of the ways that audiences have reacted to this convention.

This is the first in a series of blog posts about interactivity and the theory behind Auditorium.

Labels: auditorium, edinburgh, interactive thoughts, interactivity, theory

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We've had our first few reviews for 'Auditorium' at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Below are extracts from each and below that are links to the full articles. We'll add more here as we get them. Watch this space!


"I don't think I've ever seen fourth-wall chicanery worked into a farce - not, that is, till I came across Tom Crawshaw's magnificent Auditorium, an original work for Fringe veterans Three's Company."
"There's word-play which could have been taken straight out of Stoppard, existentialist debates, and an hilarious deconstruction of the audience itself. But as the story wears on, it gets raunchier, funnier and faster, with Crawshaw's script pressing into service all the elements of classic farce."
"Farce, existentialism, and a dose of the X-Files: I'd never have thought it a winning combination. But this continually entertaining and warm-hearted play proves that anything's possible."
***** FringeGuru

"Three's Company, the creators of last year's Fringe hit, Play On Words, are offering another hilariously interactive experimental comedy this year."
"Crawshaw's script blends impressively with the improvised moments and it is often impossible to tell whether the person sitting next to you is an ignorant audience member or a slyly placed plant. In short, this clever play is not just highly amusing, but also something you're unlikely to see elsewhere."
**** Broadway Baby

"The action begins the moment you enter the performance space and the show is great all the way through."
"On one level this play is funny and silly, and on another level it is clever and raises some important questions; most importantly, it had everyone laughing out loud and it left me feeling thoroughly entertained. This play was odd, but brilliant, and well worth seeing."
****Three Weeks

"Breaking the fourth wall is a bold move for any show - stage or screen - to make, and most who use that method are cagey about it. Auditorium doesn't dip its toe in the water, it dives in holding a bag of air and a rock."
"A remarkable achievement... All in all, this is one of the fresher offerings around."
**** Hairline

"Tom Crawshaw's script is quite excellent"
"A tongue-in-cheek Cache for the stage - makes for many laughs and a wistful finale"
"A well-delivered and curious performance"
**** Fest Magazine

"Any battle cries from the miserabilist anti-Fringers, who suggest that innovation is waning at this year's festival, should be silenced by this pacey, part-improv theatre piece."
The Scotsman

"Tom Crawshaw’s play has some clever variations on the fourth wall-busting theme. It thrives on surprise, making you suspicious of whether the person next to you is an actor or just a regular audience member."
"The ingenious premise, a series of brilliant little coups de theatre and some strong comic performances make this a very watchable show from an inventive young company."
The Stage

"Think Six Characters In Search Of An Author mixed with Being John Malkevich, written as a farce by Philip K Dick, and you'll get a faint idea of the tone and style of this new work by the company behind last year's Play On Words."
"Auditorium is a gloriously diverting, sprawling, anarchic mess of a play (and I do mean that as a compliment). It moves at a cracking pace and is often very funny indeed. Its use of the audience is very clever."
On Stage Scotland


Fringe Guru
Broadway Baby
Three Weeks
Hairline
Fest
The Scotsman
The Stage
On Stage Scotland

Labels: auditorium, edinburgh, reviews

1 comments :

We really value your feedback on our shows. Criticisms help us improve, and positive comments help attract further audiences (and stop us wanting to give up!) so if you have seen Auditorium please let us know what you think.
You can do this in the following ways:

• Leave a comment below - click on "comments" after this post to add a comment to it. It's quick and easy and you don't need to leave any personally identifiable information.


• Rate & Review us at edfringe.com - you can rate our show out of five and add a review at the Official Edinburgh Fringe website. This can really help us as Edinburgh audiences will see this, so if you have a couple of minutes please head over and rate or review us. It requires a quick registration at the site, but again, when you add a review, your information doesn't show up.


• Email Us - we are lovely friendly people who like it when people email us. If you got any questions or ideas, are interested in working with us or just wanna say hi, get in touch!


• In The Bar - catch us in the C Bar after the show - we're normally in for at least half an hour after 10.30pm...

Thanks!

Labels: auditorium, edinburgh, reviews

2 comments :

That's right folks - there's a part in 'Auditorium' which we have left un-cast and are looking for a different person to fill it every day!

All you need is to be free the night of the performance (meet 8:30pm for briefing, show finishes 10:15pm). Then come along to our auditions that day and try your look. All you have to do is read a line of script and then our audience that day will choose the winner. You get a free ticket to see the show (the part is performed from in the audience).

Audition times & places:

3:50pm, Saturday 2^nd, Sunday 3^rd, Wednesday 6^th, Thursday 7^th, Sunday 10^th, on the Royal Mile, Lower Stage
5:30pm, Monday 11^th, Tuesday 12^th, Friday 15^th, Saturday 16^th, on the Royal Mile, Lower Stage
3:10pm, Monday 18^th, Wednesday 20^th, Friday 22^nd, Sunday 24^th, on the Royal Mile, Lower Stage

1:30pm, Monday 4^th, Tuesday 5^th, Friday 8^th, Saturday 9^th, Wednesday 13^th, Sunday 17^th, Tuesday 19^th, in the main bar at C (Chambers Street)

And Thursday 14th, as paart of 'Pick 'n' Mix' at C Venues.

Labels: auditions, auditorium, edinburgh

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Well, after ten sell-out shows, 400 audiences (plus 200 turned away), 40 spontaneous performers, one reviewer (and one superlative review!), three balls of string, about twenty trips to Conways Timber Merchants, four bouts of food poisoning and one very badly sprained ankle, it's finally time for us to say goodbye and thank you very much to Buxton for another splendid year.

As usual, you've provided a brilliant audience, a fantastic atmosphere, and priceless feedback. We're sorry we couldn't indulge your cries for extra performances. We miss you already.

Same time next year?

Labels: 2008 tour, auditorium, buxton

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