Immerse Yourself – Providing the Technical Support to Immersive Theatre Productions

Immersive theatre is a type of live performance that has grown considerably in popularity over recent years. Whereas traditional theatrical productions are staged with the audience and performers kept separate, immersive productions break down these barriers and allow audience members to literally become part of the show. They also quite often take place in non-traditional venues and are set across a variety of spaces, allowing the audience to truly explore the created world around them. White Light (WL) is a company that has supplied a large variety of immersive productions and we thought we’d look at some of these, explore what was involved and how someone would go about creating their own immersive performances. 

Over the past year alone, WL has supplied the technical support to numerous immersive productions, including Secret Cinema’s Bridgerton, Doctor Who: Time Fracture, Great Christmas Feast and The Great Gatsby to name but a few. So why has this format suddenly become so popular? Key Account Manager Dominic Yates, who oversees the vast majority of these projects for WL, believes he knows the answer: “After the past two years, people are wanting to engage in shared experiences more than ever. Not only that but they want these to be as unique and fun as possible and to partake in something they’ve perhaps never done so before. That’s why we’re seeing more and more immersive shows being produced and, most crucially, more and more people wanting to attend them”. 

So how do immersive shows come about and what is the process behind them? Dominic explains: “As with anything, it starts with an idea. The shows we’ve worked on have usually been based on TV shows or films, but that’s not always the case. Then you need to consider the actual performance space. You need to find somewhere that you know will be able to fulfil your vision and the ambition of the piece as well as be audience friendly. You also then have to make sure it is technically viable and can house the various lighting and AV infrastructure needed – and that’s where we come in”. 

Once a show has been designed and the technical requirements decided upon, WL will then come onboard and work with the production electrician, technical manager and lighting designer to provide a set-up that fulfils all of the project’s aims. Dominic explains: “It’s very much a collaboration in that we all need to know exactly what we’re striving towards and what is and isn’t possible. For instance, many of these shows take place in abandoned spaces, whether that’s an empty warehouse in an old industrial estate or within disused train tunnels beneath a train station. You need to take into account not only how the equipment is going to be transported there, installed and powered but also how this will be sustained across the entire performance period”. 

One of the most recent projects that Dominic and his team worked on was Doctor Who: Time Fracture. The project was a ground-breaking immersive theatrical experience which plunges a live audience into the world of the iconic British sci-fi series. The space for the production used to be two adjacent buildings: an old army base and a series of antique shops. For the premise of the show, it had to be transformed into 17 different worlds, set across two levels, and even have a stream flowing through the basement. WL was called upon by the production’s lighting designer, Terry Cook of Woodroffe Bassett Design, to provide over 1,500 lighting fixtures.  

Dominic explains: “Much of the lighting was for this project was practical driven – hanging pendants, converted lamp shades, wall mounted sconces, chandeliers, lanterns, LED candles, LED fluorescent tubes, festoon, LED Non-Neon and even a practical fly zapper. The main generic fixtures in the rig are ETC Source 4 Mini LED profiles and PAR16 birdies with a full gamut of lens tubes and lamp types. These are complemented in the larger spaces with ETC ColorSource Spots and SGM P2s that provide greater flexibility with colour and the brighter light levels needed. The team tried to use as many LED fixtures as possible for both environmental and maintenance reasons.  

He continues: “What was interesting about this show is that it did not have a single moving light on it! This was a very conscious design choice, simply because the fixtures were too big to fit in the low-ceilinged spaces. What this meant was that we didn’t have our usual safety net of being able to quickly create a special in that ‘out of the way area’ for a particular moment. As such, every light had to be thought about a lot more in the design process and rigged very specifically for a definite purpose.”

Doctor Who: Time Fracture is a great example of how an immersive project can be brought to life from scratch. However, Dominic insists there is no set formula for how immersive productions work: “One of the reasons we like working on immersive shows is that no two will ever be the same and there are always various challenges that you need to overcome to bring such ambitious projects to life. Thankfully, as a company, we now have vast experience working on these types of shows, which is why so many clients feel confident in approaching us to work with them”. 

And while immersive productions continue to grow, are these simply a trend within the more traditional realm of live performance or are they here to stay? Dominic has a clear answer: “Immersive productions are now part of the fabric of theatre in this country and it seems to be the type of show that audience members are hungry for. Over the next few months, we will be working on several more, including Immersive Everywhere’s forthcoming production of Peaky Blinders: The Rise, as well as Secret Cinema’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Dirty Dancing to name but a few. Going to see a live performance is always an experience but immersive productions are almost taking things to the next level, which is why we’re seeing so many companies and venues turning to this form of storytelling”. 

If you are involved in an immersive production, or simply wish to have an informal chat with one of our team, then please contact:  [email protected].

Photos courtesy of Luke Dyson, Mark Senior.