Immersive Theatre: The Widening Gyre

Immersive theatre differs from the conventional theatre in the way that it removes the stage, therefore immersing the audience within the performance itself. In other words, the audience is brought into the same playing space. This is often accomplished by using a site-specific location, allowing the audience to interact with their surroundings. This can be referred to as interactive theatre; an old theatrical form that has been re-adapted in the 21st century.

However, this isn’t the only way to define immersive and/or interactive theatre. There is a wide range of definitions depending on the extent of involvement of the audience. It could be as simple as breaking the fourth wall, thus separating the performer from the fictional space to the extent of engaging the audience members directly, therefore making them active participants in the performance.

It is important to note that immersive and interactive are not essentially synonymous; interactive theatre may not be immersive just as immersive theatre may not have interactive elements within it at all.

The purpose of immersive theatre isn’t only narrowed down to entertainment; its purpose can also be to illustrate real-life political and moral debates. A recent production titled The Widening Gyre has introduced me to this form of performance. It was a devised theatre piece inspired by Brecht’s Epic Theatre and W.B Yeats’ poem The Second Coming, while focusing on the idea of apathy in our society at the present time, both locally and globally.

The main idea was that we would separate the audience into groups, and take them on a journey where they would watch separate short pieces of work such as songs (old and new), scenes (some written and others devised), and games (based on audience participation) that would all occur simultaneously. This was derived from the idea of a circus or a fair, where many different pieces would be performed at the same time, and audience members can attend any and each one.

Therefore, the ensemble had to repeat the same pieces three times so that all the groups of audience members would have watched all the work created. Due to this, the pieces were not linked in a narrative but linked in the concept of apathy. The performance included all types of theatre; spoken, physical, devised, music and movement. It can be said that you can use any kind of work with this style of theatre.

At the end of the performance, in true circus fashion, the ensemble gave a sort of parting gift to each audience member that stated it was the cure for apathy; the idea was as to not end on a sour note. Inside was a mirror that was intended to give the audience hope that they can be the difference.

It was truly an experience figuring this performance out considering it was a first for the company at the time. The message was received and even put into practice by some.

There have been a lot of performances using immersive and interactive theatre, and you can find some great examples online. Despite this, I believe there can be a lot done with this style, as it poses a new challenge that will leave all those involved satisfied.