Digital Theatre Transformation: A Case Study and Digital Toolkit

Abstract

This report concentrates on Creation Theatre and Big Telly's transformation of their physical immersive promenade production of Shakespeare's Tempest in Oxford in 2019 into a fully digital production on Zoom at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown in April 2020. It examines the company's successful digital transformation of its backstage and creative operations, analyses the business model that made it possible for the company to continue employing freelance creative collaborators, and includes preliminary audience research that looks at the perceived value for money of digital theatre. The report concludes with a 'Digital Toolkit' for creative practitioners that is composed of advice, guidelines for employers and workers (drafted in consultation with Equity UK representatives), and a checklist for Zoom theatre.