As we step into Web 3.0, we’ll increasingly experience metaverses and decentralised platforms alike. The gaming realm a perfect opportunity to encourage interconnectivity and the chance to build new. Channeling into this reality, Kakilang present Home X, a fusion of gaming, virtual reality, breakdance and testimonies questioning the meaning of home.
Immersed in a vast, characterful scape, we watch on as Si Rawlinson and Suen Nam take on this virtual realm. Miniature deer-like, tree branch horned creatures companions to Rawlinson and Nam, inhabiting this mystical world as they scuttle across. A giant, imposing yet friendly tortoise, a magnificent, striking dragon both helping to transport the creatures around. The creatures themselves, played by real life players of the game who work together to explore the world established. Watching them speak to each other on screen is endearing and exciting, this an important factor of the show as there’s an instant community built.
We hear testimonies from the cast talking about their identity and what they consider home, the show connecting participants from Hong Kong and London, who go on to discuss issues of colonialism, mixed heritage and migration and how they and those around deal with this. This is very insightful, and slows down the pace of the otherwise adventurous evening established. Home X is no doubt an innovative venture, the Pit’s ability to stage 3 walls of projected virtual reality a marvel, this world made more accessible thanks to its panoramic scale. Mia Foo seamlessly controls said virtual world upstage left, An-Ting Chang contributing an atmospheric electronic score with the power to calm. Home X is the perfect ASMR experience in a time where we could do with calm, we’re offered a form of escapism in this beautifully animated experience, and a safe space to explore prevalent themes further.
Written by Lucy Basaba.
Home X was shown from Tuesday 21st until Saturday 25th February 2023 at the Pit/Barbican. To find out more about the production, visit here…
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