Alex Palmer, Founder of interactive theatre company Riptide tells us all about their interactive WhatsApp performance, Project Intimacy.
Alex Palmer, Founder and Creative Director of interactive theatre company Riptide developed the Lost Connections series in response to our disconnected modern world, speaking up about us being the loneliest generation ever to live. Though he argues we are more “connected”, studies have shown we are lonelier than ever, and depression is on the rise. When asked ‘How many people can you turn to in a crisis?’ studies show in the UK and US the most common answer is now zero, a number which has been dwindling for the past 20 years. Project Intimacy is the antidote to our modern loneliness crisis, Riptide has curated a carefully structured fortnight experience which promotes empathy and encourages people to look beyond their own four walls to find a meaningful connection with a stranger from across the world.
Hi Alex! What can audiences expect of Project Intimacy if they’ve never been a part of interactive theatre before?
Hello! Our audiences are the centre focus of our work, so we don’t put on plays, we create experiences that put you at the centre of them. They definitely do have a story, but we don’t put on Hamlet, for example.
After the first lockdown we created Project Intimacy, which is a 14-day long WhatsApp experience where two anonymous strangers are paired together. So, you know nothing about your partner, but you are paired based on shared beliefs and values. It’s a curated journey to find connection with someone you would have never otherwise met. Interactions with your partner will vary from five to 30 minutes per day and will include daily instructions, prompts, and conversation starters created using scientific evidence on how we make friends and connections.
You’re not a voyeur in our work, we definitely see you. A Riptide trope is that we make each performance bespoke to our audience members, we know a lot about you before you start by using a pre-show questionnaire usually and that’s how we tailor the experience to you.
What effect has Project Intimacy had on people?
Project Intimacy is the longest-running WhatsApp-based experience in the UK.
In total, it has seen over 2,000 audiences connect from across 28 countries. The response from that in terms of audience response from that in terms of audience has been phenomenal. People sign up again to do it. It’s still running now. It still sells out now. There’s still a need for that work. And to put it in perspective, I think over half of the people we put in contact with each other are still in contact.
We got one lovely message from a couple who are now best friends, and they holiday together. They sent a text from Croatia saying: “We were project partners; we’ve now become best friends. We would never have otherwise met, thank you so much.” So, I think that seeing the impact of that work and seeing also seeing the statistics.
We worked with the centre of loneliness studies based out of Sheffield Hallam University to do a report on the work and the effect on loneliness it’s having, in just across 14 days. They found the sense of loneliness dropped significantly. I think seeing the impact of that type of work has shifted us to use our skills in building audience experience for much more of like a socially conscious purpose.
How does Riptide offer a health and wellness aspect with its work?
I started Riptide with the goal of giving audiences extraordinary experiences. Questioning what does it feel like to become part of an art heist when you take a painting off the wall of an art gallery? That kind of adrenaline rush experience, but for this one the experience is ‘What does it feel like to feel seen, and to feel genuinely cared for?’
I don’t think those experiences really exist, other than maybe if you do therapy or if you have a close-knit community, friends or religion that has that community aspect. But I think other than that, if you don’t have those things, where else is there that you feel connected?
So, for me Riptide is now becoming much more about giving audiences that feeling of being special and important and the star of the show.
If you have the skills, why wouldn’t you want to make a genuine impact on how people live and also try and entertain them on the way?
Book your ticket for the next Project Intimacy on:
Theriptide.co.uk/projectintimacy