Theatre’s digital project wins top national award

A digital project delivered by a creative partnership led by Derby Theatre has scooped a top national award.

The theatre recently secured the Digital Project of the Year title at The Stage Awards 2023 with Odyssey, as part of Plus One.

Plus One is a creative partnership project delivered by Derby Theatre with QUAD, Déda, Baby People and The Mighty Creatives that provides free opportunities to take part in cultural events and a range of creative workshops and projects.

Odyssey is a virtual reality live audio experience for audiences, which was created over a four-month period, working with young people across Derby, specifically with care-experienced young people and families.

Before the launch of Odyssey, research was carried out among young people across the care sector, which showed that while they did not see themselves as participating in arts, video games were popular.

Odyssey was Derby Theatre’s response to that research, using virtual reality to engage the young people, who were encouraged to create their own worlds and stories.

Playwright Simon Marshall and spoken-word poet Ndukwe Onuoha then joined the team and together they created an immersive digital VR performance experience.

Tom Craig, community and learning producer at Derby Theatre and producer of Odyssey, said: “We feel honoured to have been awarded Digital Project of the Year for Odyssey as part of these prestigious awards.

“This award symbolises how incredible Derby is at working in collaboration to give opportunities to under-represented voices, not only to be heard, but amplified through professional, innovative performance.

“Thank you to all the Plus One young people and families whose invaluable work and creative input resulted in us winning this award. I am immensely proud of this project, and everyone involved.”

In a statement, The Stage said: “Of all the digital projects that emerged last year, the judges believed Derby Theatre’s Odyssey stood out for the way it used an immersive digital VR experience to make the arts more accessible to a previously under-served group of participants across the care sector.”