Theatre
Kristy Stott, Theatre EditorThis month, we’re looking at theatre that’s challenging convention and finding new ways to connect with audiences. From live-streamed performance and interactive opera to queer comedy and punk theatre, November’s picks offer plenty of reasons to venture beyond the familiar.
At HOME, Louise Orwin takes on the TikTok algorithm in FAMEHUNGRY, performing for a theatre audience and unsuspecting viewers online. Meanwhile, at the Martin Harris Centre, Ghost of the AI Empire allows audiences to influence the action in a live opera.
Liverpool brings queer comedy with Fag Packet’s DYKE Systems Ltd at Unity Theatre, while Leeds Playhouse welcomes In Bed With My Brother’s Philosophy of the World, a confrontational piece of punk theatre inspired by cult band The Shaggs.
Back at HOME this weekend, Rae Mainwaring’s Bright Places uses humour and inventive storytelling to explore her experience of living with multiple sclerosis and the realities of an often invisible condition.
Looking further ahead, Aviva Studios’ newly announced 2027 programme includes An Ark, a mixed reality play featuring Ian McKellen, Golda Rosheuvel and Arinzé Kene. Promising an unusually intimate experience, it raises questions about how close we can feel to a performer who isn’t physically there.
Plenty to get us thinking about what theatre can be, and where it might be heading next.
