The Story

The Legend of the Mernix is a unique multimedia experience that invites audiences to join a quest to find hope in hard times.

The experience was created collaboratively by the citizens and artists of Birkenhead, Bootle and Collective Encounters through a digital participatory theatre process, as part of Collective Encounters’ Above and Beyond programme.

The story of the Mernix is as old as the wind. She was a glorious, winged fish, with golden beak and sapphire eyes, and while she lived in the river all were well and happy. But now the memory of the Mernix is faded into legend, and we live in dark times. Did she lay an egg? Could hope be reborn? Will you join the quest: help us restore hope in our communities?

There are four quests to choose from–two digital and two physical. Each quest takes approximately 1 hour and all you need is a map.

The digital quest follows Fred or Suzanne, both ordinary people living ordinary lives. But something extraordinary is about to happen that will change everything forever. Users will choose to help them as they journey into the unknown? The digital experience interweaves beautiful animation, performance, activism, storytelling, kindness, adventure and even a sea shanty!

The physical quest, users will be bestowed a map to help them follow the promise of hope and perhaps find the Mernix egg. Journeying through the heart of Birkenhead or Bootle will uncover hidden hope, encounter inspiring characters, think and dream. Each quest is an accessible walking loop just under 3 km integrating digital performance, sites of unexpected beauty, activism, song and curiosity.

The Project

Collective Encounters approached us off of the back of completing work on their website to help them produce a unique multimedia experience. The purpose of the site was to guide users through several journeys, two digital quests and two physical quests. Each quest required the user to participate in the adventure by watching videos, completing polls, writing haikus, answering questions and interacting on social media. We worked closely with the team at Collective Encounters and their designer to ensure the site adhered to the asthetic of the Mernix and to test each feature before launch.

The project took 2 months from the initial consultation to launch and is proudly hosted on our superfast hosting platform.