What is "Immersive Theatre"?

"Immersive theatre" is a theatrical type that draws in its audiences, by placing the viewers in the performance. Traditional theatre provides the audience with a "snow-globe" effect, which effectively separates the performers and relative scenery from those watching. However, immersive theatre breaks this boundary by removing the fourth wall, thus making a fantasy world come to life.

'Shunt and Punchdrunk have been particularly successful with respect to their ability to attract large audiences over long runs; their garnering of critical attention; and their use of large-scale, maze-like found spaces as locations for extensive environmental performances. The attractions of these spaces are obvious: they provide ready-made exploratory landscapes, redolent of other histories, into which performances can be scattered, and in which engagement with the environment can be an important part of the audience experience. Both Shunt and Punchdrunk have made repeated use of disused industrial spaces for their environments.' (White, 2002, 223)

This video shows the potential features of immersive theatre.

It has a slight resemblance to the "Theatre of Cruelty", consisting of lighting effects and breaking the fourth wall.

This is an omnidirectional type of performance, as wherever the audience looks something different happens (and they appear in the scene). Traditional theatre, on the other hand, is a unidirectional performance, since audiences only see material by looking at the stage.

 "The scene revealed plot-related information, inflected by the scenic environment and its corporeal effect on me, but my inclusion in the fictional world at this level did not, of course, give me a genuinely privileged insight." (Gareth White, 2002, pg. 231)

This shows that performances use the scenic background to intrigue audiences, which is a common feature of immersive theatre and the stereotypical performance. However, this performance type eliminates the opportunity to gain a deep and meaningful understanding of the story.