An Ark at Aviva Studios

Imagine sitting just a few feet away from Ian McKellen. He’s looking directly into your eyes, speaking as though you’re the only person in the room. There’s just one catch. He isn’t actually there.

Cue An Ark, an inventive theatrical experiment arriving at Aviva Studios for its European premiere next spring. Billed as the world’s first mixed reality play, it promises to turn some of theatre’s most familiar conventions on their head, raising an intriguing question along the way – how close can we feel to a performer who isn’t physically present?

Created by mixed reality pioneers Tin Drum in collaboration with Factory International, An Ark brings together an impressive cast including Ian McKellen, Bridgerton‘s Golda Rosheuvel, acclaimed actor and playwright Arinzé Kene, and Rosie Sheehy. Rather than appearing on a conventional stage, the performers materialise through special mixed reality glasses worn by each audience member, seemingly occupying the same space as the audience.

Unlike virtual reality, which transports viewers into a completely digital environment, mixed reality allows the physical and digital worlds to overlap. You can still see the people around you, but the actors appear remarkably close, making eye contact and addressing you directly. It’s an unusual proposition, a collective theatrical experience that somehow feels intensely personal.

And while this use of technology might grab the headlines, the story itself explores something far more familiar. Written by Simon Stephens and directed by Sarah Frankcom, An Ark journeys through love, sex, work, grief and mortality, examining the experiences that shape a human life. The four performers guide audiences through these universal themes in a production more interested in human connection than showing off its technological tricks.

There’s a strong Manchester connection, too. Stephens and Frankcom have a longstanding creative relationship, with acclaimed collaborations at the Royal Exchange Theatre. Meanwhile, Tin Drum founder Todd Eckert returns to the city following KAGAMI, his mixed reality collaboration with the late composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, presented at Manchester International Festival in 2023. Following its New York premiere at The Shed, the production now heads to Manchester.

Speaking to Creative Tourist, Factory International’s Artistic Director and CEO John McGrath offered an interesting perspective on the role of technology in theatre. “Artists have a big role to explore: what can technology be, and what is the humanity of technology?” he explained. For McGrath, it’s not simply about the “whizzy tricks”, but the ways in which technology can help us explore our own humanity.

For An Ark, that means creating an experience in which every audience member feels as though the actors are speaking directly to them. As McGrath explains, everyone shares the same performance, but each person experiences it slightly differently. It’s a curious blurring of the individual and the collective, challenging one of the fundamental pleasures of live theatre – being together in the same room.

Of course, whether a digitally captured performance can recreate the emotional immediacy of live acting remains an open question. But perhaps that’s precisely what makes An Ark so intriguing. With a stellar cast, a formidable creative team and a technology still finding its theatrical feet, there’s plenty here to get excited about.

After all, theatre has always been about making us believe in something that isn’t really there. An Ark simply takes this idea a step further.