Choose your own theatrical adventure

TICKETS are on sale for an immersive, choose-your-own-adventure styled theatre experience at Queenscliff’s Vue Grand Hotel.

Set at a hospital fundraiser in 1924, ROARING brings together Geelong’s high society for an evening of grandeur and excess, secrets and scandals, and an exploration of morality, intention and consequence.

Audience members are invited to follow the story as it unfolds around them, moving through multiple rooms of the historic Vue Grand Hotel.

They can choose a character to follow, stay in one room or explore at will the scenes taking place simultaneously in different rooms throughout the venue.

Producer and lead actor Libby Brockman, who has been working on ROARING for the past three years, said she was excited for local audiences to experience the immersive show.

“In a normal play, you often have one storyline, or you all share the same experience..but with ours, you follow who you want to follow,” she said.

“If you’re interested in the dodgy Irish guy, you get to follow him the whole night and see what happens with him, or if you’re interested in the queer plotline, you can follow the couple of queer characters and see where that ends up.

“Rather than seeing snippets depending on what scenes the writer decided to put in a linear play, you get to follow the journey of whichever character excites you the most.

“The downfall for some is that fear of missing out if they follow one person and miss somebody else’s journey, and I think the pros outweigh cons there. Our solution is: come see it more than once.”

Written by award-winning regional playwright Fleur Murphy, the show features an experienced cast of 10 actors, with many playing historical figures from Geelong and its surrounds in the 1920s.

Live music throughout the show will be performed by the Bellarine Big Band and attendees are encouraged to dress up in their best 1920s garb, with the best dressed at each showing awarded with prizes donated by local businesses.

“It’s more than just a play. It’s a fun night out with live music and dress-ups and adventure,” Ms Brockman said.

The show’s development and production has been funded through community crowdfunding events organised by Brockman and the crew, and has received grant support from the City of Greater Geelong, Creative Victoria and the Geelong Arts Centre.

Ms Brockman thanked the community for their support and the Vue Grand Hotel for donating the venue.

To book tickets to ROARING, from June 26 until July 13, head to trybooking.com/events/landing/1218055

The cast will also host a trial run of the show on June 16, with half price tickets on offer for attendees, which are available through trybooking.com/events/landing/1221459

Those who are interested in seeing the show more than once will receive a promotional code during their first viewing, offering discounted tickets for their next visit.