Nick Cave at Beacon Theatre
photo by Dana Distortion

Nick Cave playing the voice of the forest in new interactive viral play, 'Dream'

Nick Cave continues keeping busy during the pandemic — he’s just joined the cast of Dream, a new interactive play based on William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Rolling Stone reports. Nick is set to play “The Voice of the Forest,” which is described as “a strange and mystical character who accompanies the audience as they explore the rivers, flowers, and trees of a virtual midsummer forest.”

The virtual theater production — which is a collaboration between the Royal Shakespeare Company, Manchester International Festival, Marshmallow Laser Fest, and Philharmonia Orchestra — was originally slated to open spring 2020 in person, but was instead recorded during lockdown and converted to an online format. The interactive show will feature motion capture technology to portray the actors alongside their own digital avatars, and will also let viewers to interact with the performers in real-time.

“Music is an integral part of the Dream experience and we’re thrilled that Nick Cave’s voice will sit alongside Jesper Nordin and Esa-Pekka Salonen’s living, dynamic score,” said Jane Beese, head of music at the Manchester International Festival. “With his mystical voice and dark vocal tones, Cave is the perfect person to represent the forest helping audiences traverse the otherworldly land of Dream.”

For more information on the production and purchase tickets to stream starting March 12-20, you can head to Dream‘s website.

Nick also just surprised released a new album with his Bad Seeds bandmate Warren Ellis, Carnage, last week.