Prior to reading Janne Tapper’s article Pervasive Games (Tapper, 2014), my perception of pervasive media and how it could be utilised within site-specific performance was distorted. How could it be effectively utilised to interest and interact with an audience? What techniques needed to be mastered to create a compelling piece? These questions remained on my mind. However, all became clear after reading the article. The referral to a powerful piece ‘played on the streets of Tel-Aviv, Israel, in the middle of a busy intersection’ (Tapper, 2014, 151) where ‘one character was shot and killed, and the body was taken and placed in a dumpster’ (Tapper, 2014, 151) alerted me to how powerful an impact a piece could have upon an unknowing audience. The apparent simplicity, yet also great amount of detail and precision, of the piece made me realise how to begin devising and developing my own project.

This leads on to my investigation around Lincoln’s high-street. Since this is the location for our project, I scouted the area while looking for hidden passages and paying special attention to the buildings and streets as I felt it essential before planning my project. What I found was surprising. While I regularly use the high street for consumerist needs, I never truly noticed the architecture of the buildings and the atmosphere they create. A prime example of this is the arches. While the ancient structure is dominant while on the high street, never before have I properly explored it. The atmosphere generated by the structure while doing this was astounding as I felt transported back into the middle ages where the arches would have had a greater use. Thus, this emphasises that items such as our smart phones distract us from our true and fascinating surroundings and ultimately cause a lack of great opportunities. One building which really caught my attention was that of the Jews house. The building itself stuck out at me and while reading the information signs regarding its past, I felt compelled to research this further and perhaps pursue this as part of my project.

Bibliography

Tapper, J. (2014) Pervasive Games: Representations of Existential In-Between-Ness. Themes in Theatre, 8, 143-160.