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“Tre Rum” (“Three Rooms”) has formed the basis for testing low-latency technology within Nordic performing arts in the collaboration project “Innovative Rooms”. Project partners are Riksteatern in Sweden, Tromsø municipality in Norway, and Centria University of Applied Sciences in Finland.
In September 2023 actors were connected across three national borders for the first time to perform together. In the play “Tre Rum”, actors in Sweden, Norway, and Finland participated simultaneously, even though they were on stages in different countries with audiences in each theatre. A main character was physically present on a stage in each respective country, while the two actors performing from distant stages were projected onto the stage through transparent screens. The play explored the life of a woman across different stages of her life.
Net Insight’s IP media solutions were crucial in seamlessly streaming the event, showcasing their expertise in handling complex media workflows. Our innovative technology ensured ultra-low latency and high-quality audio and video transmission, proving essential for live events that demand real-time precision and reliability. For more details, read the press release here.
Q&A with Ann-Cathrine Fröjdö, project manager for “Tre Rum” at Riksteatern, Swedish National Touring Theatre
Ann-Cathrine, how did the idea of performing the theatre play in three countries simultaneously come about?
– Riksteatern has carried out a series of low-latency projects together with Nordic organizations, companies, and universities. The projects have resulted in the Remote North NCDP network.
– “Tre Rum” was a concept developed by Andreas Brännlund, also responsible for the artistic coordination, based on the experiences we have gathered from the Nordic projects. Filip Alexandersson was the director of the play, and he also wrote the script.
– The Remote North format exploits the vast untapped capacity of the Nordic fiber networks, which are largely owned by local and regional network owners and energy companies.
Andreas Brännlund, to the left, on the stage in Norway, Filip Alexandersson on the stage in Sweden and Ann-Cathrine Fröjdö on the stage in Finland after the “Tre Rum” premiere.
What challenges have you faced in realizing it?
– The difficulty has been mostly pedagogical, that is, informing these community-owned network owners about the benefit of allocating a fraction of the capacity built with tax money for community service and culture.
What technical challenges did you have to overcome to make the performance and communication work smoothly, and how did you solve them?
– We have tested all components in the technical chain with respect to latency, i.e., cameras, projectors, software and hardware for audio and video signals, as well as the interface to the optical fiber network where Net Insight’s media transport platform has been a crucial component.
How do you see “Tre Rum” affecting the theater audience in each of the three countries?
– Even though the Nordic countries have many cultural similarities, identity is tied to the region one feels affiliated with. The cohesion between the different regions increases as migration progresses, and the rural population moves to central locations and vice versa.
– The three countries have immigrants from many countries in each region. We believe that “Tre Rum” and the Remote North technology can be a steppingstone to offer minority communities joint cultural events across geographic distances in the Nordics moving forward.
Net Insight’s Q3 report 2023