Ten Minutes Late Theatre created a film show 'Virtually Friends' exploring what happens when physical connections must be replaced with virtual ones. When shown on 25 May the show incorporated live performance with audience interaction. The show is based around the idea of a simulation video game, the audience had the opportunity to vote on what decisions Kym should make and thus craft a unique story. As the film is a recording of this show audience interaction is no longer possible.

About the film

The world doesn’t revolve around you, but what if it could? Physical contact as we know it has been removed. Social interactions have become more and more virtual. To ease the strain of isolation, the government has released a simulation game, called Virtually Friends, to replicate, reinvent, and replace human interaction. The game simulates versions of your friends, allowing you to interact with them as if they were in the room! Kym is a streamer who has had to isolate away from his friends. See if Kym’s virtual friends could replace his real ones.

About Ten Minutes Late (TML)

TML are a West Midlands-based theatre company who create socially responsive work. Through their own unique artistic lens, TML apply a fresh perspective and offbeat approach to devising theatre. 

Background to Virtually Friends 

The concept for Virtually Friends came from a previous TML project launched in 2019; LIT: Mad Scientist Level [Live Interactive Theatre]. This show incorporated live performance with audience interaction on a Twitch live stream channel. Mad Scientist Level was a success and the format felt like a fitting response to how audiences can access theatre today during quarantine. Not only this, but it accurately represents the situation of TML at present; we are all isolating together with the exception of Kym who is isolating without us. We wanted the characters in the game to reflect our dynamic as friends; we played exaggerated versions of ourselves so that these characters would be instantly recognisable to Kym, making his connection to each of them strong from the start.