Inspired by the real life relationship between Maiko Yamamoto and her 11-year-old son Hokuto - and his obsession with Minecraft - MINE uses a digital lens to explore mother-and-child relationships.
A new commission by artsdepot, Cambridge Junction and Future Arts Centres brings the show by Canadian theatre company Theatre Replacement to artsdepot on Thursday, March 21, to Saturday, March 23.
The computer construction game Minecraft becomes a kind of theatre as a group of gamer/performers between the ages of 10 and 46 enact different mother-son narratives, live in front of an audience. In a rocky and mountainous landscape, Grendel’s mother takes brutal revenge in a tale from the Beowulf saga. In a clearing in the woods, the brief but powerful lessons that Bambi’s mother taught him, before that horrible day in the meadow, are revealed. In a nearby city, a cyborg assassin travels back in time to destroy a woman named Sarah Connor and her son, who hasn’t been born yet, but who will one day save the human race from machines. These stories become myths within a performance that unpacks one of the world’s most essential relationships – that of mother and son.
Personal stories from the relationship of Theatre Replacement’s Artistic Director Maiko Yamamoto to her son, and their shared experience of playing Minecraft, have inspired the making of MINE.
Maiko Yamamoto says: “I started playing Minecraft about two years ago. This was prompted by my eldest son, Hokuto. Playing Minecraft with him has been a revelation.
“Our dynamic is flipped as his abilities in the game are better than my own. While I struggle to build a single room shelter he puts up hotels and empires. And yet, he’ll still ask if it’s ok to get a dog before he ‘tames’ one. In the world of game, we are also just two players, tinkering away and discovering things as we go.”
artsdepot, 5 Nether Street, Tally Ho Corner, North Finchley, N12 0GA, Thursday, March 21, to Saturday, March 23, various times. Details: 020 8369 5454 artsdepot.co.uk
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