Milla Jovovich Stars in Toyota's World-first Drive-through Immersive Theatre Experience

A unique performance was staged in London on 2 February 2017, to celebrate the launch of the new Toyota C-HR. Hollywood star Milla Jovovich starred alongside a cast of European talent in the world’s first drive-through immersive theatre experience.

Titled ‘The Night That Flows’, the seven-scene interactive production was staged within the immense space of The Printworks in London. The experience saw 100 guests immersed in the story of one amazing fictional night as it unfolded across five European cities; Berlin, Milan, Paris, Barcelona and London. Each scene drew inspiration from one of the Toyota C-HR’s design pillars of sound, design and driving dynamics.

The story was narrated by Milla Jovovich and centred around guests finding their perfect flow, which took inspiration from the 'flowing' design of the new Toyota C-HR, whose dynamic design gives the effect of constant movement, even at a standstill. The Department executed the event and created 100 unique short films featuring the guests alongside Hollywood royalty Milla Jovovich, which were secretly filmed as guests travelled through each scene.

Freuds as co-creators provided the strategy and creative concept, engaging with The Department, the world’s first immersive agency, to develop, design and deliver the project across its multiple disciplines and partners. Participants were thrust into the limelight as part of the event, taking centre-stage in the live multi-sensory performance and interacting with a variety of different characters as they made their way through the myriad of scenes.

The event’s team was led by The Department’s creative directors, Jonny Grant and Hamish Jenkinson with executive producer, Jessica Rees-Middleton.  The Head of Art Direction was James Fentiman of Freuds, and some of the world’s top creative and technical talent worked on the project, such as Dick Straker at Mesmer; Takis; The Flash Pack, who created a bullet time rig to capture moving image of guests in the Milan scene; and performance direction from James Seager and Joe Hufton from London’s immersive theatrical group, Les Enfants Terribles.

The journey began in Berlin, where guests were transported through the streets of the city in the C-HR using innovative projection footage captured by The Department at the Berlin International Festival of Light. From Berlin, guests flowed seamlessly into Milan where they experienced their very own taste of a high fashion catwalk, complete with paparazzi.

Following their catwalk moment, guests were led backstage at a Milanese fashion show by Italian fashion designer Fabio Attanasio and model Giorgia Palmas. The Flash Pack created a bullet time rig to capture a moving image of guests in the Milan scene. Completely enclosed in a mirrored space, the C-HR became the star of the unique fashion show, revolving a full 360 degrees.

Propelled into a Parisian casino, guests joined an excitable crowd gathered around a roulette table where French croupier Etienne Pradier invited them to take part in a game of chance.

French rally driver Guerlain Chicherit then took guests on an exhilarating drive around a giant projected roulette table, showcasing the car's driving dynamics and controlled responses.

Transported to Barcelona, guests were surrounded by a flash-mob style club scene, with Spanish DJ Cuartero leading the crowd as the soundtrack played out over the C-HR's JBL sound system. The journey concluded with guests arriving in a London bar, where they were greeted by mixologist duo Alex Kratena and Simone Caporale, and joined by Milla herself.

Event Production and capture of the event was also led by The Department team, and Producer Mark Arrigo to best encapsulate the immersive aspects of this journey and bring it to an audience outside of those lucky enough to attend.