How Traditional British Entertainment is Getting a Modern Overhaul

If there's one thing that the people of Britain are known for, it's a love of all of our old traditions and customs. Certain things like fish and chips or afternoon tea have been so ingrained in us that we have become famous across the world for them. Some traditions, however, do need a little makeover now and then to stay with the times, so here are three iconic British leisure activities that have gone modern.

Bingo

While finding traditional bingo halls of generations past is still possible in most parts of Britain, bingo as a whole has become extremely modern. It's online where we're seeing many of the latest versions. Online bingo has been popular for a while already due to the tech aspect as well as the remote convenience. Even then we have different versions, with many now playing the combination of slots and bingo known as Slingo games at Paddy Power and other major casino sites.

Even offline, however, there are some big changes happening in bingo. There has been a rise recently in bingo event nights, where bingo games are woven into other games and activities like live music. These were once one-off events but now they are fully booked months in advance across the country.

Cricket

With perhaps the exception of gold, cricket has the unfortunate distinction of being seen as the slowest and stodgiest of all sports. Centuries of strict rules and customs cemented it for a long time as something of an old man's game. That's why, around 20 years ago, the ECB introduced an official T20 format, played for 20 overs per team instead of the normal 50.

Not only is T20 a faster game simply by being shorter, but it allows for things like colourful uniforms, music played between overs in the stadium, and a lot of bright entertainment separate from the game. This approach, which takes some inspiration from the MLB baseball league in the States, opened up cricket to younger generations and is now contending to be the most popular version worldwide.

Theatre

For purists, nothing will ever be able to replace the experience of just having an audience and cast together in person. After all, theatre is thousands of years old and for most of that time, the overall idea remained the same. With that said, technology has moved along very quickly in recent years, and more than a few theatre groups are taking advantage of it.

Recently, the most interesting has to be the integration of virtual reality into performances. Standard theatre has the audience separated from the cast by an invisible wall, but recent shows like the play Smile in Dundee have used VR to transport the audience into the scene, with cast members directly interacting with the audience's character. Not only does it allow for more immersive experiences, but the tech also allows people to watch remotely where they can't physically reach the venue.

We're not expecting all traditional British entertainment to get this treatment, but it's fascinating to think of how customs from hundreds of years ago can still be transformed.