Projects
BENEFITS QUEST (R&D/DEMO MODE)
BENEFITS QUEST (R&D/DEMO MODE)
Benefits Quest is a hybrid of interactive theatre & live video gaming that challenges its players to take on one of the most treacherous, hostile environments there is - THE MODERN BENEFITS SYSTEM.
Benefits Quest is a hybrid of interactive theatre & videogaming that uses a retro gaming aesthetic and fantasy narrative to take a satirical swipe at the stigma surrounding the modern benefits system, highlighting the struggles of those within it while championing the people who rely on it and whom it has failed.
Experiment
£20,000
Aims of the project
Digital 2D game characters will be projected on to our stage, controlled by our audience with traditional and non-traditional gaming controllers, and interacting with live performers.
Together we will search for keys hidden in the auditorium, fight boss battles on stage, and try to manage a dwindling household budget as we obtain the food, shelter and job opportunities we need to survive.
Can we give our 2D heroes the support we need? Can we take on an increasingly hostile environment in a shifting maze of changing rules? Can we take on… A BENEFITS QUEST?
Meet the artists
Hidden Track
Hidden Track are a multi-award winning interactive theatre company creative playful, political work which fights for change, challenges narratives, and rewrites the rules of theatre.
Creating interactive work since 2013 Hidden Track’s breakout theatre show ‘Standard:Elite’ explored class and social mobility, touring nationally to 10+ 5-star reviews and multiple awards (Best Newcomer, Brighton Fringe; Best New Writing, Greater Manchester Fringe; Nominated for Venue North Edinburgh Fringe Award).
In 2020/21’s lockdown, they experimented with making online games, with ‘How to Win’–commissioned by HOME and Harrogate Theatres – and ‘SHUT IN’, released on online gaming platforms Steam and itch.io. Each received critical praise and attention across theatre and gaming audiences. (9.2/10 – FullSync, 9/10 – Cubed3, 4/5 – Adventure Gamers)
Now they are bringing these two mediums together with their brand new creation ‘BENEFITS QUEST’, a hybrid of playable theatre and live video gaming interrogating the world’s most treacherous environment – HIS MAJESTY’S BENEFITS SYSTEM.
Elliot Hughes
Writer/Performer
Anoushka Bonwick
Director
She/Her
Cael O’Sullivan
Game Designer
He/him
Cael is an independent video game designer, pixel artist, and programmer, specialising in atmospheric, narrative-driven gaming. Cael worked with Hidden Track to develop our previous gaming projects ‘How to Win’ and ‘SHUT IN’, and will develop the digital game element of the show, while collaborating on methods to mix this with live interactive theatre.
Houmi Miura
Performer
She/Her
Houmi is a Japanese British female writer, theatre-maker and actor. Her solo show ‘In The Beginning Woman Was The Sun’ was supported by Arts Council England and recently toured HOME, Eclipse, and Unity Theatre. Houmi performed in our previous 5-star production ‘The Cost of Everything’, and will work with us again in Benefits Quest.
Thomas Wingfield
Performer
He/Him
Thomas is a graduate of both UEA & Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. His most recent work includes playing SHERLOCK HOLMES in Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of the Four in Austria for Vienna’s English Theatre and touring North America as ROMEO in Actors From The London Stage’s Romeo and Juliet. Thomas will be an on-stage performer in Benefits Quest.
Euan Jackson
Production Manager
He/him
Euan Jackson is an experienced Production Manager/Theatre Technician who has worked previously on productions including Perfect Show For Rachel, Sad Book, and Insane Asylum Seeker. He will be supporting the technical and logistical side of the production.
