“The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps”: a Case Study for Combined Storytelling in a Theatre Play and Virtual Reality

“The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps” is a poem by Murray Lachlan Young, aimed at both children and adults. This poem has been adapted as a theatre play with a short prequel as a Virtual Reality (VR) / tablet app. We used this unique combination to explore the potential interaction between these different media elements for the level of “presence” and “immersion” in the story (i.e. the level to which one can imagine oneself within the story at the expense of the sense of physical time and space). The theatre audience had the opportunity to play the VR / tablet app in the foyer before the performance started. After the performance, a questionnaire measured participants' level of immersion and presence in the theatre play and their enjoyment of both play and app. The results showed that people of all ages interacted with and liked the app. Ratings for the play were also high and did not depend on prior engagement with the app. However, the play was liked more by adults than children, and the reverse was true for the app, suggesting a potential generation shift in multimedia story telling.