Escape from Monotony

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A JUNIOR ASSISTANT MANAGER…

An interactive installation toying with escapism and the anti-work movement.
World Premier for Play Moves at the Museum of Brisbane, December 2022 until April 16 2023.

Enter corporate purgatory – a world of monotonous busy work and administrative abyss. A space where people come to disappear from 9-5, where humans serve as machines. We’ve made a terrible mistake coming here – but there is a way out. Between the flickering fluoros and carpeted walls there are secrets in this space. A series of whimsical interventions that can be triggered to subvert the corporate energy. The only way to find each one is through exploration and discovery.

Escape from Monotony serves as a reverse escape room. Here, it’s not about getting out of the space, it’s about getting out of ourselves, and channelling new forms of escapism through imagination and play. With each new discovery, the world can be magically manipulated, triggering lively music, animated water cooler coolers, and dancing pot plants. Some transformations will take multiple people to activate. Some will need to be played like an instrument – one move, sound, or gesture at a time.

Once the reality has been cracked open, the environment becomes a tool for co-creative shared expression. Channelling both anti-work sentiment and techno-nostalgia, this experience will bring participants together in shared moments of recognition and whimsy. Through the playful potential of the space, participants will become collaborators as they make discoveries, share their findings, and cooperate to escape the monotony of the workplace together.

Developed by the techno-troublemakers at Counterpilot, this interactive experience combines rich world-building with mischievous satire, immersive gameplay, and exciting technical design.

"Escape from Monotony is completely original, I've never seen anything like it in the museum before.”

- Oberon Review

“The undoubted highlight of the show…it’s impossible not to smile when you realise the mug you set down just turned the entire room purple. As in any good escape room, there’s the thrill of discovery around every corner, but without the pesky locked doors and time pressure…if you play around enough, you’ll find everything here makes more sense than what goes on in most real offices.”

- Lemonade Letters

Created by Counterpilot

Devised by Nathan Sibthorpe, Christine Felmingham, Mike Willmett & Sarah Robertson

Directed by Nathan Sibthorpe

Technical & Lighting Design by Christine Felmingham

Production Design by Sarah Robertson

Sound Design by Mike Willmett

Additional contributions by Sarah Winter, Milly Walker & Sean Dowling

Technical Trickery by John Felmingham & Sam Black

World Premiere December 2022 - April 16 2023
PLAY MOVES @ Museum of Brisbane

Escape from Monotony will be available for bespoke remount presentations from July 2023.