The Spectators’ Odyssey

Toasterlab’s Involvement

Toasterlab produced, edited, and uploaded the 360-degree videos used in Spectator’s Odyssey. In addition, Toasterlab provided all of the VR headsets, as well as technical support throughout the run.

Overview of Discipline, Context, Intention

Produced by DopoLavoro Teatrale, Daniele Bartolini’s The Spectators’ Odyssey – o dell’Inferno is a contemporary, audience-specific experience that invites participants to travel behind the scenes of a theatrical space and its surroundings to make them the central character in the narrative they experience.

An adaptation of the Homeric Odyssey and Dante’s Inferno, The Spectators’ Odyssey borrows the great sense of wonder of these poems as the audience becomes a modern Ulysses, a voyager. As participants bring themselves into the piece, with their lives and emotions, the show becomes a platform for exploring their own personal journeys.

Experience

Led by many different performers throughout the experience, groups of 8 participants at a time travel to remote parts of the backstage of the theatre – across the stage, through fire exits, and into dressing rooms, auditoriums, and rehearsal halls, as well as other unexpected and secret locations along the way. They encounter different vignette-style experiences at every turn, and need to make choices about what paths they will take.

Performance Runs

The Spectators’ Odyssey premiered at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts in Toronto. It ran from November 2-14, 2021.

Relevant Organizations and People

DopoLavoro Teatrale (DLT) is devoted to audience-specific creations and multidisciplinary contemporary performance. The company was founded in 2006 by Artistic Director Daniele Bartolini in Florence, Italy.

TO Live connects three of Toronto’s most iconic theatres and a diverse spectrum of talent to present a full range of performing arts, theatrical and concert events, family programs, free community events, and web series.

Stazione Utopia is an Italian social enterprise for culture and entertainment. Founded in 2010, they carry out activities on behalf of public and private institutions including theatres, museums, foundations, contemporary art festivals, and research centers in the fields of music and entertainment.

Daniele Bartolini – Director