Zuppa Theatre brings interactive mystery to the Killam Library

Exams may be finished, but something quite different will soon be attracting crowds to the Killam Memorial Library.

If you remember thumbing through Choose-Your-Own Adventure paperbacks as a kid — maybe at your local library — Halifax’s Zuppa Theatre is offering you a chance to relive that feeling with its newest production, The Archive of Missing Things.

Part scavenger hunt, part audio play, part live performance and completely interactive, The Archive of Missing Things — which runs from May 15-27 — is set within the Killam Library. Audience members have 90 minutes to make their way through the puzzle that is the play’s plot.

When guests arrive, they’ll receive an iPad and a set of wireless headphones and take their place overlooking the atrium on floors two through five. Actors will communicate primarily through the headphones, making the experience truly immersive.

You might be asked to listen carefully to an overheard conversation or to look in a certain direction. During the scavenger-hunt portion of the performance, characters may be seen scurrying out of sight as you turn around. Is it part of the performance, or just some regular library activity?
 
“I spent a lot of time in the Killam as a kid,” says Alex McLean, co-artistic director of Zuppa Theatre, “so it always felt weirdly magical to me. I think my appreciation for libraries was born in the Killam, and this performance is a sort of celebration of libraries.”

The Archive of Missing Things is the result of a collaboration between Trillium Award-winning writer Kate Cayley, award-winning sound designer Brian Riley and web designer Ned Zimmerman.

“Kate approached us with the idea of making a show based on a Goethe’s poem The Erlking,” says Ben Stone, Zuppa co-artistic director. “We started there and tried to find a way to capture something that felt dynamic to us. Surprisingly, we found it in the idea of an undercover performance for libraries.”

A different look at the library

This is not the first time the Dalhousie Libraries has hosted something unique in the Killam. In 2016, the Killam atrium was the stage for Will Robinson’s Brutalist Song II, a live music performance inspired by Robinson’s time as artist-in-residence at the Killam.

“Hosting cultural initiatives like this in the Dalhousie Libraries is an additional way for us to engage the community,” says Donna Bourne-Tyson, university librarian. “We’re thrilled to have Zuppa Theatre here and to welcome new library users and theatre lovers into the Killam.”
 
The Archive of Missing Things is presented as a part of Eastern Front Theatre’s Stages Festival and runs from May 15–27. Tickets are $15–$25. A full schedule and tickets are available online at TicketHalifax.com.