Excerpt from This Gen Fellowship - Research on Immersive Theatre
My perspective and approach toward my craft changed after ThisGen experience . When I was working on the Sem Mann staging in India I really tried to understand why I created this type of theatre. I also delved into the history of Immersive Theatre and compared my work to it. The following works I stumbled upon in my research were notable for me.
Phantasmagoria: Dating back to the late 18th century, this form of horror theatre used primitive projections, smoke, mirrors, and sound to
conjure ghostly apparitions—pioneering early immersive spectacle Richard Schechner’s “Environmental Theatre” (1968) laid the theoretical groundwork for immersive performance focused on site, space, and audience integration
In the 1950s–60s, experimental “Happenings” blurred the line between audience and performer
Contemporary landmarks include:
● Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More (London from 2003, New York 2011–2025), a Shakespearean-noir experience where audiences freely roam through a multi-level set inspired by Macbeth and Hitchcockian aesthetics;
Their expansive The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable (2013) at Temple Studios allowed over 600 audience members to wander a vast immersive space blending dance and narrative
●Secret Cinema’s immersive adaptation of Grease (London, 2025) merged live musical performance with film screening and interactive carnival environments
Live Cinema & Multimedia - Live Cinema refers to performances where film is not just screened but integrated with live performance, music, dance, or interactive media
Example of these include:
● UK’s The Light Surgeons created SuperEverything** (2010), blending documentary film, live visuals, and performance in a poetic audiovisual narrative
Modern initiatives like National Theatre Live screen live theatre to cinemas globally—combining stage and cinematic viewing through techniques like live close-ups
Projection Mapping & Multimedia Theatre - Projection mapping projects dynamic visual content
onto 3D surfaces—sets, architecture, even performers. This transforms static objects into stunning, immersive backdrops22 Notable examples include:
● Odense City Hall transformed via projection mapping into a luminous version of “The Nightingale” during the H.C. Andersen Festival
Artists and events increasingly use this technique for storytelling and immersive design in live theatre
As I had mentioned before, my work has been something that is mixed medium especially that of Film and Theatre. Sem Mann - is a piece of work that particularly focuses on the affect that genocide had on a community and how that community has rebuilt itself through language and art. For me the fragmented work that I reconnect is this process repeated over and over again. I suppose subconsciously I bridge gaps and connect missing pieces together in different spaces in order to heal something within me. My work is a reflection of this process. The presentation of my work ranges from "Multimedia theatre" and "Immersive theatre + projection mapping"so far. I do have ideas to venture into "Virtual reality theatre" or "XR theatre".
All of these have in common - escapism, surrealism, entering into another world and realm, a larger than life space where one forgets reality, only to return with a renewed perspective and reflections that challenge or shift one’s view of society. Given my story and experiences I understand why my mind creates the way that it does and when I was earlier in this journey people used to refer to me as a spider who did multiple things and many had told me to refine my practice in one art form. But I feel I find my freedom and creativity in weaving many mediums together. It's just the way my fragmented vessel has been designed and I’m happy that today art consumers are able to allow for such an expression. Again the conversations I have had through ThisGen allowed me to accept my work as a valid form of expression. Especially meeting artists like Ellie who work with mixed mediums and have also had similar experiences as me, validated the existence of my work.