Video games on the theatre stage

[sophiepeters1987]

Posted: 2/25/21 at 7:11pm

Does anyone know of any video games that have been adapted for the stage? Obviously these movies are everywhere (and often ****ty), but theatre productions? I think there's some huge potential. 

Personally I'd love to see God of War 5 or Bloodborne adapted. 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 2/25/21 at 7:55pm

There have been a couple of threads on this topic in the past that would be worth checking out: 

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1110244#

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1104827&page=1

[copskid949]

Posted: 2/27/21 at 11:46am

I genuinely think that Portal and Portal 2 would be incredibly experimental and beautiful onstage. It’s a very #MeToo story set in a dystopian science chamber that basically serves as a literal interpretation of one white man’s rise and downfall as he forsakes humanity for his own creations. Plus there’s a whole subplot about a man suffering from schizophrenia, the protagonist of the entire show is a woman who refuses to speak, and the whole operation is run by one of the most tragically funny game characters of all time, a robot named GLaDOS. It’s just one iconic character after another, and Portal 2 introduces a plot twist that makes them all the more exciting.

The only real challenge I see in adapting it is that the entire game (and title) was crafted around a gimmick: a Portal gun that allows a person to fire two temporary holes into the wall, connecting them like a doorway. That’s a big ask onstage, and the initial reaction may be to tone down its usage. It is, however, a Chekhov’s Gun. Chekhov’s Portal Gun, if you will. So it would have to be incorporated as well. (Also, fans of the original game would flip if you didn’t have it in there.)

The idea of the protagonist firing portals and being replaced by a series of other actresses to create the illusion of portals might be a really cool dance number though.