asses.masses
A custom-made videogame for the stage about sharing the load of revolution.
Created by Milton Lim & Patrick Blenkarn
The unemployed donkeys have one demand: the humans must surrender their machines and give all donkeys their jobs back. But revolution is never easy. asses.masses is a custom-made video game about labour, technophobia, and sharing the load of revolution, designed to be played from beginning to end in a live theatre. Brave spectators take turns at the controller to lead the herd through a post-Industrial society, where asses are valued more for their hides than their potential. Cheeky, political, and best described as Animal Farm meets Pokémon meets Final Fantasy, asses.masses puts the control(ler) in its audience's hands and asks them to discover the space between the work that defines us and the play that frees us.
A game controller sits at the front of the stage. Brave spectators take turns each night stepping forward from the herd to seize the means of production (the controller) and become the player. There are no instructions. It is up to the audience and their self-elected leaders to make decisions and play out their version of the game.
asses.masses is designed to be played live by an audience over 10 episodes, 7.5 hours, and 4 intermissions during which snacks, drinks, and a meal are served. The game tells the story of a herd of donkeys who stage a revolution, and the audience must likewise negotiate leadership, share decision-making, and equitably distribute labour. As the show tours internationally across languages and cultural contexts, audiences transform from spectators into active communities of players. This practice of bridging participatory performance and game design serves as a powerful and playful tool for collective action and civic engagement.
The team behind asses.masses wanted to bring all the fun of an epic game night in the basement with your friends to a theatre and bridge the divide between games and performance.
asses.masses now tours in over 11 languages and has been played by hundreds of people around the world. Confronting automation-driven job loss, nostalgia as a barrier to progress, and the role of technology in adaptation, the performance continues to evolve as a collective social experience.
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"For anyone looking to walk into a theatre and experience that art can still be a site of genuine, messy, democratic protest, this show is essential. It’s a riot that proves the best way to build a new world is to play."
— ArtsHub Australia
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"Thanks to Green's sterling work, these donkeys become more endearing and fully-formed the more we know about them and their world."
— Broadway UK
Performances
For all upcoming and current performances visit assesmasses.work
2026.05.23 | Istanbul Fringe x Paribu Art, Istanbul, TR (TR)
2026.05.15-16 | SPRING Festival, Utrecht, NL (NL/EN) — Flemish-Dutch language premiere*
2026.04.11 | Inkonst, Malmö, SE (EN)
2026.03.28-29 | Espoo Theatre, Espoo, FI (EN)
2026.03.21 | Broadway Cinema, Nottingham, UK (EN)
2026.02.14 + 21 | ICA Boston, USA (EN)
2026.02.07 | Center for the Art of Performance @ UCLA, Los Angeles,USA (EN)
2026.01.24-25 | Sydney Festival, Sydney, AUS (EN)
2025.11.15-16 | Peek Fest, Victoria, CA (EN)
2025.11.07-08 | Seoul Performing Arts Festival, Seoul, KO (KO) — Korean language premiere
2025.11.01-02 | IF Barcelona x Fundació Joan Brossa, Barcelona, ES (CA) — Catalan language premiere
2025.10.26 | Take Me Somewhere, Glasgow, UK (EN)
2025.10.04 | NYU Skirball, New York City, USA (EN)
2025.09.28 | IMPACT Festival, Kitchener-Waterloo, CA (EN)
2025.09.27 | Teatro Municipal, Porto, PT (PT) — Portuguese language premiere
2025.09.20 + 21 | Istanbul Fringe Festival, Istanbul, TR (TR) — Turkish language premiere
2025.09.13 | Zones Théâtrales, Ottawa, CA (FR)
2025.09.07 | FringeArts, Philadelphia, USA (EN)
2025.05.24-25 | The Theatre Centre, Toronto, CA (EN+ES)
2025.05.18 | auawirleben, Bern, CH (EN)
2025.04.12-13 | Battersea Arts Centre + London Games Festival, London, UK (EN)
2025.04.05 | Bradford UK City of Culture, Bradford, UK (EN)
2025.03.29 | PAMCUT + Risk/Reward, Portland, USA (EN)
2025.02.15-16 | UMS (University of Michigan), Ann Arbor, USA (EN)
2025.02.02 | Mois Multi, Québec City, CA (FR)
2025.01.12 | Theater im Pumpenhaus, Münster, DE (DE)
2024.11.17 | Campania Teatro Festival, Naples, IT (IT)
2024.11.10 | Theater im Pumpenhaus, Münster, DE (DE)
2024.10.26 | HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin, DE (DE) — German language premiere
2024.06.18+20 | INTEATRO Festival, Ancona, IT (IT) — Italian language premiere
2024.05.25-06.02 | Festival TransAmériques + Centaur Theatre, Montréal, CA (FR+EN) — French language premiere
2024.05.18-19 | Mayfest, Bristol, UK (EN)
2024.01.20-02.03 | PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, Vancouver, CA (EN)
2023.09.22-24 | The Theatre Centre, Toronto, CA (EN)
2023.09.06+09 | International University Theater Festival (FITU)/UNAM, Mexico City, MX [ES]
2023.06.09 | STAGES Festival, Halifax, CA (EN)
2023.06.08 | FOLDA, Kingston, CA (EN) — English language premiere
2023.03.02-04 | Buenos Aires International Festival (FIBA), Buenos Aires, AR (ES) — Spanish language premiere
Creative Team
Patrick Blenkarn (Canada) — co-direction, text, programming, pixel art, 2D animation, show operator
Milton Lim (Canada) — co-direction, text, sound design, video, 3D visual effects, show operator
Laurel Green (Canada) — dramaturgy, text, touring producer, show operator
David Mesiha (Canada) — original music, sound design, audio implementation, show operator
Clarissa Picolo (Brazil) — pixel art, 2D animation
William Roth (France) — pixel art, 2D animation
Ariadne Sage (Germany) — 3D environments
Samuel Reinhart (USA) — additional programming
Marcos Krivocapich (Argentina) — Spanish translation
Gilles Poulin-Denis (Canada) — French translation
Julius De Michelis (Italy) — Italian translation
Clarissa Picolo (Brazil) — Portuguese translation
Birgit Schreyer Duarte (Canada/Germany) — German translation
Emre Yıldızlar (Türkiye) — Turkish translation
Tom Vanderheyden (Canada/Belgium) — Flemish translation
Marc Villanueva Mir (Catalonia) — Catalan translation
Park Hyung Joon (South Korea) — Korean translation
Kyle Yamada (Japan) — Japanese translation
Mira Ying (China/Netherlands) — Chinese Simplified translation
Support & Partners
Created with support from Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, The Theatre Centre, VIVO Media Arts, Embassy of Canada to Argentina and Paraguay.
Developed with the funding support from Creative BC and the British Columbia Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts.
Produced by STUDIO FUNFUG in association with the National Arts Centre of Canada’s National Creation Fund
