The best virtual things to do at home in March

Online entertainment has upped its game this year, thanks in part to interactive ‘experience makers’ like Swamp Motel, who use a mix of theatre, storytelling, gaming and puzzling to help people socialise through a screen. Its latest, ‘The Kindling Hour’, is a computer-based interactive thriller where your team (of two to six players) must ‘infiltrate the dark heart of a powerful organisation’. But who’s the real enemy here? Until May 30. £15. Tickets here.

So raving really isn’t on right now. But if you’re missing the thrill of going out out, a new immersive theatre experience promises to offer groups of friends the chance to ‘hunt down an illegal rave’ through its online platform. Their reward at the end? An excellent line-up of DJs including Wookie, Eats Everything and Alan Fitzpatrick. Various dates. From £12.50. Tickets here.

Ever wondered what it’s like to see the world through the gaze of a deeply wacky artist? ‘Unfolding Shrines’ is an augmented-reality app that turns your surroundings into distinctive, colourful ‘portals’ into the imaginations of four artists – Jason Welsher-Mills, Sophie Helf, Rebekah Ubuntu and Uma Breakdown. All you need is your phone and you’re good to go. From March 24. Free. Check it out here.

London’s Southwark Playhouse presents a new musical that puts a gender-swapped spin on Goethe’s classic poem (you might be more familiar with the Disney ‘Fantasia’ version). This version is set under the Northern Lights in a town called Midgard, where the rebellious daughter of a sorcerer discovers her newfound powers just in time to save her town from destruction. March 1-14. From £15. Tickets here.

Every year, the UK’s National Literacy Trust hosts a charity fun run where everyone has to dress up as Wally, Waldo, Walter (or whatever you call him in your country), the guy from the ‘Where’s…?’ books. Which is funny, because usually there’s only one of him and he’s very hard to find. It’s all for a great cause, and this year the event is going virtual. Tune into the dedicated stream on the Saturday morning to join in a 15-minute warmup with renowned football freestyler Jamie Knight, then get out the door and ruuuun however far you fancy. March 20-21. Tune in here.

Miss exhibitions? This month, VOMA – the world’s first virtual museum – is launching two brand-new online shows bringing together classic artworks from some of the world’s most cherished institutions, from the Musée d'Orsay to the Art Institute of Chicago. The first, ‘Reclaiming the Body’, explores the ‘renewal and restoration of power’ through the lens of the body, and the second, ‘Breaking into Colour’, is a celebration of colour and abstraction in modern art. The shows are accessible via any device. From March 2. Free. Check it out here.

For several years now, Noah Levine has been performing ‘Magic After Hours’, a cosy evening of prestidigitation held at New York’s oldest magic shop, Tannen’s, after closing time. Since cramming 20 people into a tiny room is not currently an option, Levine has teamed up with Atlas Obscura for a new show, ‘Backstage with a Magician’, that he performs from home on Fridays. Expect an entertaining shuffle of audience interaction, close-up tricks and plenty of magic history. March 5, 12, 19, 26. $25 per device. Tickets here. 

Melbourne’s Isolation has launched a virtual escape room that takes place entirely over Zoom. After a video introduction, you quickly realise there’s someone else on the call, and that someone is not doing very well. The man with us is Dr Logan Kaye, an astrophysicist stranded on a remote research station, and he really needs our help. He’s suffering from amnesia, and we soon discover that if we don’t recover his memories quickly, he won’t ever be able to leave the station. Until May 16. A$120 for two to six participants. Tickets here.

Is it a play? Is it a film? Well, it’s something in between. Following the success of their live-streamed production of Tom Stoppard’s ‘A Separate Peace’ last year, London theatre company Platform Presents will premiere ‘Good Grief’, a romcom by Lorien Haynes. Created for the screen, not the stage, the play was rehearsed over Zoom and filmed in a studio. BAFTA award-winning Sian Clifford – otherwise known as Fleabag’s uptight sister, Claire – stars alongside Nikesh Patel. Until April 15. From £15. Tickets here.

The Met continues its immensely popular rollout of past performances, recorded in HD and viewable for free. A different archival production goes live at 7.30pm every day and remains online for the next 23 hours. This month’s lineup includes works by Verdi, Mozart, Mascagni and Puccini. Every day. Free. Tune in here.

London’s Wardrobe Ensemble had planned to debut their two-woman adaptation of ‘The Great Gatsby’ in front of a live audience a couple of months ago. Lockdown meant that couldn’t happen, but fortunately for all of us still stuck at home, they’ve performed the show in front of a camera instead. This unique retelling of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece is now available to stream throughout the month. Don’t miss it. March 1 to 31. From £5. Tickets here.

We’ve all got good reason to worry about the future of the planet. But what we really need is solutions. An online festival, Forecast, will host a series online panel discussions, performances, Q&As and film screenings considering what exactly that sustainable Earth might look like. There’s potential for woolliness here, but the lineup of big-name speakers – Jeremy Deller, Lily Cole, Ryan Gander – isn’t to be sniffed at. There are plenty of actual scientists giving their two cents too. March 3-7. Free. Tickets here. 

Following four hit streams in 2020, experimental music bash ‘Bang on a Can’ returns this month, with an epic lineup of specially commissioned works performed live from artists’ homes around the world. The full programme four-hour marathon show is still TBC, but expect all-new tunes from genuinely weird and leftfield musicians. March 21. Free. Tune in here.

Want to add a splash of razzle-dazzle to your WFH life? We recommend lining up a film premiere for straight after your shift. Don your finest clothes, grab a glass of something, then head to the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival, which is on hand with exclusive online screenings of 32 films this month, to coincide with International Women’s Day on March 8. Each screening includes a virtual talk from the filmmakers. March 4-14. From C$10. Tickets here.