This year has been…different, to say the least. It’s forced us all to get creative in our thinking and look for new approaches to old ways of doing things. When it comes to the performing arts, the companies and festivals we call our own have been hard at work exploring new ways to engage audiences and keep “the experience” front and center as they move ahead in new and exciting ways.

This fall, Theatre New Brunswick will bring the theatre experience out into the public by presenting something a little different. TNB’s upcoming presentation, Red Phone, will let the audience become actors in short plays written by some of Canada’s most exciting writers. Sounds crazy, right? But you’re also interested, aren’t you?

What is Red Phone and How Does it Work?

Red Phone is an audience-to-audience performance created by the innovative Vancouver-based theatre company, Boca del Lupo. Currently on tour across Canada, Red Phone utilizes the intimacy of a phone call and the technology of a teleprompter. It takes place between two hand-crafted, fully enclosed phone booths outfitted with a vintage red phone and an integrated teleprompter.

Two at a time, audience members engage each other in a five-minute conversation written by a Canadian writer. The act of having the conversation with an unseen partner provides an anonymity that adds to the intimacy of the performance, encouraging participants to be the actor in their own theatrical experience. Red Phone is a one-of-a-kind performance that has been described as the theatrical equivalent to singing in the shower!

Free of charge (donations welcome) will be open October 14-17 at Picaroons Roundhouse.  Anyone can walk up and into the booths with a friend or family member and spend five minutes engaging in some of the most urgent, touching, thought provoking conversations written by some of Canada’s most exciting writers including New Brunswick playwright Ryan Griffith.

Curious? Check out this video for a full explanation.

Want to experience Red Phone for yourself? Stop by the Picaroon’s Roundhouse any evening from October 14-17. Staff and volunteers will be on hand to assist, disinfect and answer any questions.

Matt Carter is a husband, writer, bike enthusiast, photographer, craft beer lover, musician and first year gardener based in Fredericton. A proud Frederictonian and New Brunswicker, he founded the arts and culture website Grid City Magazine, where he does his best to share music being made and events taking place throughout the region.