Japan is home to an array of gaming-to-live-theater adaptations of beloved video games that transform their virtual worlds into original stories (or that find ways to cram 40 hours of narrative into a single evening). Now a live theatrical adaptation of Gnosia, a 2019 sci-fi social deduction game, is doing things differently, seeking to transform its social deduction gameplay into an entirely improvised live performance, and you can watch the results of this experiment for free on YouTube for a limited time.
Unlike franchises such as Ace Attorney or Castlevania, both adapted to the stage by Japan’s all-female Takarazuka Revue theater troupe and telling structured stories that can be adapted into live theater in a fairly straightforward, traditional way, Gnosia‘s unique gameplay makes such a simple adaptation to the stage quite difficult. Initially an indie game developed by Petit Depotto and first released on the PlayStation Vita, its appeal lies primarily in gameplay that merges traditional visual novels with what is essentially a randomized game of Werewolf.
Trapped on a spaceship, a mix of humanoids, aliens, and talking dolphins must deduce and cryogenically freeze the so-called “Gnosia,” a parasitic being that has climbed aboard and is seeking to kill the other passengers. While there is an overarching narrative to the original game, the appeal of this sci-fi adventure lies in seeking out clues to the Gnosia’s identity in character dialogue, with RNG meaning that the identity of the Gnosia isn’t fixed by the game’s story. How do you recreate this interactivity on stage?
The Jinrou “Live Playing Theater” troupe have done away with a typical script in place of an entirely ad-libbed production, where the focus for the performers is solely on portraying the characters, whether innocent or a Gnosia—something they only learn just moments before stepping out on stage. The promise is that every show in the limited 20-performance run is entirely different.
To encourage fans and newcomers alike to experience this concept for themselves, the opening performance of the show has been made available on YouTube until September 6th. If you want to see other performances, every subsequent show is also available to stream for the cost of 3,300yen ($21) per performance. The free performance is well worth watching. Although it’s not subtitled in any language, it remains enthralling to see the characters react naturally to one another without knowing what is coming next. It’s also two hours of free theater based on one of the most critically acclaimed Japanese indie games of recent years.