‘Quite an adventure’: Immersive theatre experience in Montreal

Meet your character, follow their path, choose their story: this is the concept behind the “Meet Me” play, an immersive theatre experience in Montreal.

“When you get audience to make a choice, they’re more emotionally invested in the character,” said Rosaruby Kagan, director and co-playwright. “They become more involved.”

The Live Action Theatre Project, in collaboration with Teesri Duniya Theatre, gets you diving into the topic of cancel culture and consent, spectators collectively decide how the play unfolds.

“It’s about three university professors who are working on a project together, and two of them become intimately involved,” explained Kagan. “There’s a situation of sexual misconduct that’s happened, and so the audience helps them decide how to handle that situation.”

The “Meet Me” play cast rehearsing at Montreal’s Queen Elizabeth Health Complex on Sept. 28, 2022. (Credit: Pamela Pagano/CityNews)

Audience members each follow one of the characters for the entire show as they walk between three locations on the McGill University campus, eventually meeting up with the other two characters.

“I want them to be able to ask themselves what they would have done in that situation,” said Kagan. “Maybe have forgiveness towards somebody who did something that they wouldn’t personally have done.”

The “Meet Me” play cast rehearsing at Montreal’s Queen Elizabeth Health Complex on Sept. 28, 2022. (Credit: Pamela Pagano/CityNews)

The team encourages their 18+ audience to return, select a different character, as no two shows are alike.

The multiple possible outcomes means a 500 page script for the actors.

“It’s very timely, a story as far as negotiating lines of consent go, but it’s also a perfect post-pandemic piece of theater,” said Darragh Mondoux, actress who plays Gemma. “This is nothing like staying home and watching Netflix.”

“We’re going to make you walk around, we’re going to make you talk to us and tell us how you feel about the story every step of the way,” she added.

Enhancing the timely subject in the post #metoo era is the use of technology. Audiences get to track the story arc of their character through an app specifically developed for the play on a phone they’re lent.

(Credit: Pamela Pagano/CityNews)

The “Meet Me” play runs from Sept. 29 to Oct. 8. at McGill University.

“I just hope people come out and share this exciting experience with us,” said Kagan. “It’s quite an adventure.”