Lifeline 99 99 is an absurd telephone line that interrogates a critical question that confronts us today – in the age of growing indifference and shrinking empathy, can one still create a genuine human connection?
Dial in for a unique experience where you get to choose from seven distinct, live and interactive stories that'll tell you something about the fate of humanity in the times to come.
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The show premiered for audiences in India in February 2021 with four housefull weekends and 140+ hours of one-on-one calls. After two independent runs and participation in three festivals, this experience is now available to audiences in India for its closing run.
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How does it work?
The audience calls a phone number, where they hear an IVRS voice that asks them certain questions and subsequently connects them to any one of the seven experiences currently available.
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What do you mean by interactive theatre?
In interactive theatre, you can have a free conversation with the performer – ask questions, offer comments or even take charge of the story unfolds! Depending on your level of interactivity and how the conversation flows, the show lasts anywhere between 30 to 60 minutes. No two shows are alike as each conversation is unique and personalized to you and how your answers drive the story.
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What experiences are available?
You can have a one-on-one conversation with a conflicted sex chat operator, an aggrieved idealist, a dude alien, a morbid insurance agent, a memory alteration researcher, an ethical scammer or art itself, personified... all telling you something about the times we live in.
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Where does this show take place?
This show takes place on the phone. It is an audio-only experience, making it suitable for not only those with limited or impaired vision, but also those experiencing screen fatigue. This show can be attended from the comfort of your bed at your home. All you require is your phone and some network. Headphones are not mandatory but are recommended.
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What happens after I buy a ticket?
You will receive an email with more instructions for the show day as well as a Whatsapp reminder on the day.
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We would like to acknowledge Thespo Audio-Torium, a creative laboratory that encourages audio dramas by emerging theatre-makers, for the role it played in the early days of the project.
We would also like to thank Vivek Madan, Arghya Lahiri, Toral Shah, Nipun Dharmadhikari, Srishti Ray, Neel Chaudhuri, Varoon P. Anand, Nadir Khan for the feedback they shared on the early draft of the project.
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We would like to thank Sahith Krishna (Product & Brand Manager), Gayatri Krishnamoorthy (Head of Marketing) and the team at Exotel for supporting this project through their valuable support and guidance.
About Kaivalya Plays
Lifeline 99 99 is produced by Kaivalya Plays, an Indian performing arts and production company led by Varoon P. Anand as its Artistic Director and Gaurav Singh as General Manager. Known for their work in spontaneous improvisation, foreign text adaptations, immersive experiences and innovative formats, its root in the cultural capital of India, New Delhi, the group has created innovative artistic experiences with a focus on community-building. Over the course of seven years, they have worked consistently, been very noisy, and built associations with institutions all across India.
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Given the show's reliance on improvisation, interactivity and technical immersion, it found a natural fit with Kaivalya Plays’ artistic practice and vision, with a number of team members involved in this project coming in from Kaivalya Plays’ network of freelance practitioners and artists.
About Exotel
Kaivalya Plays is partnering with cloud communication company Exotel for the second run of Lifeline 99 99.
Powering over 4.5 billion calls annually, Exotel is Asia’s largest cloud-based customer communication platform. Exotel's best-in-class communication tech powers calls & SMSes to over 4,500 businesses including Ola, Swiggy, Gojek, Flipkart etc.
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As technical partners for Lifeline 99 99, they bring their expertise and guidance to support this interactive theatre show that happens on the phone, leveraging Exotel's interactive voice response system (IVRS) and exophone technology.
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Speaking about the partnership, Shivakumar Ganesan, Co-founder & CEO of Exotel, says "It is amazing to see how Kaivalya Plays has used the power of technology to come up with such an engaging presentation. I'm always excited to see the use of cloud communication in such an innovative manner."