In the CAGES musical, the money has been invested in technology. The play employs only seven actors.
Performers are constantly trying to invent new forms of expression to attract young audiences to their performances. _CAGES_, which premiered in Los Angeles just before the corona pandemic, represents the theater of the future, according to its creators. Now the work has been unearthed again after the corona restrictions.
_CAGES_ will have its European premiere in London in mid-September, and performances are scheduled until the turn of the year. It’s about a musical, even if the creators would rather talk about the theater of the future.
The show features almost 20 songs, and the story takes place in a dystopia, a nightmarish future place called Anhedonia. What is special about the show is that there are at most only seven live actors on stage, although there are sometimes huge \”crowds\” of people moving around the stage. You can watch the trailer of the work here.
With the help of digital technology, the stage can be filled with \”water\” in a few seconds or it can be lit \”on fire\” in the same time. The work has been described as cinematic theater, and millions of dollars have been spent on the development work.
– _CAGES_ is a musical for people who might not like musicals, Benjamin Romans said in the Los Angeles Times.
The visual content of _CAGES_ was filmed and edited in the former warehouse of the e-commerce giant Amazon.
In Los Angeles, the musical gained cult popularity. It was performed outside in an uninteresting space with 1920s theater seats installed, and the show began in a gothic bar. The auditorium could only accommodate a hundred people.
_CAGES_ is almost a virtual package, which is relatively inexpensive to move.
– The theater has been renewed since the beginning. Why couldn’t it be developed in this direction, says Romans in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
