{"id":38421,"date":"2018-07-19T16:43:38","date_gmt":"2018-07-19T15:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=38421"},"modified":"2018-07-19T16:46:11","modified_gmt":"2018-07-19T15:46:11","slug":"zed-events-the-wasteland-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2018\/07\/zed-events-the-wasteland-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Zed Events \u2013 ‘The Wasteland Experience’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo Credit: Zed Events<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Elisha Fey survives the nuclear apocalypse only to get menaced by raiders, in Zed Events’ thrillingly immersive ‘Wasteland Experience’.<\/b><\/h4>\n

Fancy a trip past the end of the world? Zed Events has you covered. Turn up on the day in clothes you can get dirty and shoes you can run in \u2013 there’s going to be a\u00a0lot\u00a0<\/i>of running. They’ll give you a gun, a torch and some basic instructions… then you’re left to the dark expanse of derelict mall, relying only on whoever comes to guide you. Whether they’ll be trustworthy is a different story.<\/p>\n

This is an immersive theatre experience: more interactive than a movie, more real than a video game. There’s nothing quite like this medium. Conventional theatre doesn’t quite compare \u2013 that still keeps the audience in a separate bubble, whereas there’s little to no separation here. And the programmed responses in a virtual reality game can come nowhere near matching the live responses of the actors here.<\/p>\n

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Photo Credit: Elisha Fey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking of which, there’s no doubt that the acting is the strongest aspect of this event. The character Holly accompanied us through much of the story, and played a major role in making it as real as it was. Constantly engaged and on the ball, she kept our attention, carried us through the story and improvised around our interactions. One moment struck me early on, when it turned out my gun wasn’t working at a critical moment and needed a quick fix. I expected her to slip into out-of-character instructor mode, like the staff who delivered our weapons briefing, but no: once the story had started, nothing would break her character. She performed “real world” troubleshooting quickly and efficiently, all the while writhing in the agony of her fictional wounds. A seamless blend of keeping the game running smoothly and keeping the story consistent and real.<\/p>\n