In its native Auckland, Royale Productions has been making quite a name for itself, with its freshly innovative takes on the theatrical form, one of which was Apocalypse Z, an immersive real-time drama taking place during a zombie apocalypse. Inspired by video games, it gave audiences a unique opportunity to interact and engage with the narrative. Apocalypse Z arrives in Edinburgh this summer as The Generation of Z, part of the New Zealand at Edinburgh season. In anticipation of what should prove to be a thrilling experience for festival goers, I spoke to Royale Productions’ founder and Director Charlie McDermott (who also performs); the show’s Director Michael Hurst and Executive Producer, writer and performer Simon London about the show.

What is perhaps most striking about The Generation of Z is how its approach to immersive theatre is remarkably different to what audiences have seen before. Unlike other high-profile examples, such as Punchdrunk’s The Drowned Man, which offers audiences an abstract and sensory opportunity to experience life in a film studio through the medium of physical theatre, The Generation of Z is much more plot driven. “For us the focus has always been on giving people a linear story line, a thrilling journey with a clear trajectory, highs, lows, a climax and a clear end,” says London. “This doesn’t mean that every audience member experiences the same show. Like a video game we want them to have the ability to go down different pathways and to make choices that influence their experience.”

The influence of video games on the piece is clear to see. Instead of having the audience as spectators (immersed or otherwise), in this case they are fully involved in the narrative. As Hurst, who directs, puts it: “by having the participants constantly have to adjust their position to ‘get’ everything, by giving them tasks and having them literally ‘in the way’ of the performers, and by treating them as civilians who need to be told what to do at all times, the intensity of the piece has skyrocketed. There is no safe haven, no familiar seating block or effective way of simply becoming a secret, silent observer, as in traditional theatre.” The ‘tasks’ given to participants smack of the linear progression of video games, which the company is hoping will attract younger audiences to the show. It’s no surprise that the mix of video games and zombies has now found its way into the theatre after spreading across other art forms (particularly film, with movies such as World War Z, Resident Evil and The Prince of Persia: Sands of Time populating the multiplexes). It was inevitable that sooner or later theatre would catch on.

“With The Generation of Z project, we are trying to combine [all the senses] by embedding our show in a current pop culture zeitgeist – zombies, and staging it in a site-specific real-world environment then mashing it up with a real-time new gaming platform. It is helping us take a chainsaw to the perception that the majority of young people have: that theatre is a staid, old fashioned, rarefied art form.” Taking a chainsaw to it, indeed. And then some.

What audiences can expect from The Generation of Z is a no-holds-barred thriller, thumping with adrenaline. Simon London, one of three writers, says “the idea has always been to give audiences an immediate, in your face zombie horror experience using immersive theatrical storytelling.” This may be theatre, but it is theatre on an almost cinematic level – be it from the hugely impressive set (London: “the set is the biggest character in the show!”) which would just as well fit a lot on a movie studio than in Edinburgh’s George Square, to the incredibly detailed zombie make-up provided by designer and artist Shay Lawrence (who has worked on, amongst other things, The Hobbit films) there has been no expense spared to create as detailed and authentic an experience as possible. All of which should lend itself to the excitement.

That’s not to say that the piece hasn’t been a challenging one to pull off. When I asked London whether making the make-up look authentic up close was a struggle he said that rather it was “the violence that has been the most tricky… and considering you have to destroy a zombie’s head to kill it, it can be difficult to give the audience a convincing zombie kill in a hand to hand situation.” The way around this, London tells me, was to introduce blank firing guns. “Being able to give audiences the satisfaction of a gun going off right next to them and a zombie getting owned has been awesome. Not to mention chainsaws. That’s right, chainsaws.”

Still, the production team stresses that the piece is not solely aimed at younger audiences and shouldn’t be dismissed as ‘exploitation’ theatre. McDermott makes it clear that “it’s also not just young people, this show has attracted the most diverse audiences I have ever seen. I think this is due to entertainment coming back full circle, where it is all about the real, it’s about participating and interacting with what you can see and smell and feel…” Exploitation theatre or otherwise, The Generation of Z will be an experience unlike any other available at Edinburgh this summer…

The Generation of Z will be at Assembly George Square Theatre from 31 July – 25 August as part of NZ at Edinburgh 2014. For more information, visit the Assembly Theatre’s website.