The unemployed donkeys have one demand: the humans must surrender their machines and give all donkeys their jobs back. But revolution is never easy!

asses.masses is a custom-made video game about labour, technophobia and sharing the load of revolution, designed to be played from beginning to end in a live theatre. This is gaming as performance; an immersive, cheeky and highly original work. Brave spectators take turns at the controller to lead the herd through a post-Industrial society, where asses are valued more for their hides than their potential.

Confronting automation driven job loss, nostalgia as a barrier to progress, and the role of technology in adaptation, we are encouraged to find space between the work that defines us and the play that frees us. 

asses.masses is Animal Farm meets Pokémon meets Final Fantasy: as exciting in form as it is in content. No previous gaming (or donkey) experience required.

Ass Power!

We encourage you to stay for the entire duration, to go on a journey together, from start to finish. The experience is not designed for audiences to come and go anytime, or to arrive late. Intermissions take place every two episodes, approximately every 1.5 hours, with food and drink provided all day.

asses.masses Workshop

Book a spot on this workshop on Democracy, Immersive Practices and Performance led by Patrick Blenkarn. Participants will collaborate to answer this question and to playfully imagine new experiences, stories, games, and processes that might foster new forms of democratic practices within the performing arts and our society at large.

This performance is highly visual with no spoken text. All language is visual, with written text based prompts integrated into the performance. A BSL interpreter will be present during breaks for conversational BSL. Trainee BSL Interpreter Elliot Webster- Mockett will be present during breaks for conversational BSL.

This performance is a durational video game, played collectively by the audience.

7 + hours with regular intermissions serving food and drink.

This show embraces some elements of a Relaxed Performance. For asses.massess, this means :

• Audiences can leave and re-enter the theatre

• Audiences are welcome to move, tic, stim or make noise

• House lights never fully go down

• A pre-show access information guide and social story is available

• A breakout space will be available pre, during and after the show

• Ear Defenders, Ear Plugs and Dark Glasses will be available to borrow

Sensory notes:

• Flashing Lights

• Rapid Moving Images

• Audience Participation

Language: English (Written)

Food will be served. Allergens include Celery, Gluten (Gluten free option available), Sesame, Dairy (Vegan option available), Wheat, Mustard, Soy. NB: Food prepared in a kitchen that uses other allergens.

Venue and Seating:

T1 - Tramway (ground floor). Wheelchair accessible. Tramway venue access information.

Seated: Seating Bank with flip down, padded seats with arms. 1 row step free. Controller position on stage - level access with seated or standing option.

Wheelchair spaces available to reserve via Tramway Box Office.

A breakout space will be available pre, during and after the show.

Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

Visit our Festival Access Page.

All references are thematic and not graphic, the tone of the work is light-hearted and humorous in nature. Age rating established in line with UK media standards.

• Strong Language

• References to violence

  • Donkeys run into a village which is on fire and you can hear screams. Donkeys also kick humans who fall to the floor.

• Brief Simulated Sex (pixel art, no genitals, not graphic)

  • Human: 6 to 8 seconds of pixel art of in 3 frames. There are no genitals and it is not graphic.

  • Donkey: in context of 3D ‘dance revolution’ game where donkeys are doing activities they like (racing, sex, running); the whole collage is approx 45 secs.

• Police Brutality

  • Donkey kicks riot police who falls over. It is pixel art/cartoon and is not graphic.

• Reference to Drug Use

  • Particle effect on the screen which goes purple & hazy, there are no images of actual drug taking.

• Reference to Suicide

  • Donkey ruminates on whether life is worth living as their partner has died. No depiction of suicide.

Food served

- Selection of snacks including popcorn, fruit, sweets, crisps & chocolates
- Veg samosas
- Hummus with vegetables
- Dahl with naan (vegan)
- Ice creams (both dairy & vegan)

See Access Notes for full list of allergens. NB: Food prepared in a kitchen that uses other allergens.

ARTIST BIOS

Patrick Blenkarn and Milton Lim are conceptual artists exploring urgent questions around the social value of art, digital labour, and the political potential of games. Mixing their backgrounds in performance, philosophy, psychology, and digital media, their collaborations have manifested in video games, participatory installations, digital archives, and card games. 

In addition to their asses.masses, Patrick and Milton are also the co-founders of the Canadian national video archive of performance (videocan) and the co-creators behind a performing arts economy trading card game (culturecapital), a role playing game about cultural design (FARCE), and an escape room intervention in a German museum (FUNFUG FORUM). Their projects have been presented across Canada, as well as in Germany, Argentina, Mexico, Italy, the United Kingdom and the USA, in English, French, Italian, Catalan, German, and Spanish. 

Their next project, dam.nation, follows the true story of twenty Canadian beavers acquired by the Argentinian government in 1946.

Patrick Blenkarn (he/him) is an artist working at the intersection of performance, game design, and visual art. Often engaging with the politics of participation and interactivity, his recent works feature sustained investigations into the subjects of language, labour, democracy, and the art economy, with projects ranging in form from video games and card games to stage plays and books. His work has been featured in film festivals, galleries, and performance festivals across Canada, and recently in Argentina, Mexico, Germany, and the Arctic. He is the Producer for The Elbow Theatre in Vancouver and one half of Guilty by Association. Patrick has a degree in philosophy, theatre, and film from the University of King's College and an MFA in interdisciplinary art from Simon Fraser University. He is passionate about languages—speaking English, French, Spanish, and German.

patrickblenkarn.com

Milton Lim (he/him) is a digital media artist, game designer, and performance creator based in Vancouver, Canada. His research-based practice entwines publicly available data, interactive digital media, and gameful performance to create speculative visions and candid articulations of social capital. This line of inquiry aims to reconsider our repertoires of knowledge aggregation and political intervention in the contemporary context of big data and algorithmic culture. Milton holds a BFA (Hons.) in theatre performance and psychology from Simon Fraser University. His work has been presented across Canada, and internationally in the US, Argentina, the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia. He is a co-artistic director of Hong Kong Exile, an artistic associate with Theatre Conspiracy, a founding member of Synectic Assembly—an Artificial Intelligence focused art collective, and an Artistic-Leader-in-Residence at the National Theatre School of Canada.

miltonlim.com

Show credits

Co-direction, Text, Programming, Pixel Art, 2D Animation: Patrick Blenkarn (Canada)
Co-direction, Text, Sound Design, Video, Shaders, 3D Visual Effects: Milton Lim (Canada)
Dramaturgy, Text, Touring Producer: Laurel Green (Canada)
Original Music, Sound Design: David Mesiha (Canada)
Pixel Art, 2D Animation: Clarissa Picolo (Brazil)
Pixel Art, 2D Animation: William Roth (France)
3D Environments: Ariadne Sage (Germany)
Additional Programming: Samuel Reinhart (USA)
Tour Operators: Patrick Blenkarn, Milton Lim, Laurel Green, David Mesiha, Stéphane Noel
International Distribution: Stéphane Noël / Materialise

PARTNERS
Created with support from Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, The Theatre Centre, VIVO Media Arts, Embassy of Canada to Argentina and Paraguay.

Developed with the funding support from Creative BC, the British Columbia Arts Council, and Canada Council for the Arts.

Produced in association with the National Arts Centre of Canada’s National Creation Fund.