RSC Consortium: Audiences of the Future

A unique team of UK creative industry specialists pooled their expertise to discover the next stage of immersive performance experiences for audiences around the world. The £16 million investment was a key element of the Audience of the Future programme.

The project involved 15 specialist organisations and pioneers in immersive technology including leading British arts companies, global technology giants and top British universities. Together they explored how audiences will experience live performance in the future.

Over two years the group will worked together to explore what it means to perform live using emerging technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR). They uncovered the future opportunities of real-time immersive performance that are connected across multiple platforms, creating opportunities for the UK cultural sector to change the way audiences experience live performance by making it more immersive.

Audiences will no longer be bound by their location. Using devices such as mobile phones, Extended Reality (XR) headsets and streaming into live performance environments, or even in the home, wherever they are, audiences will experience live performance like never before.

Led by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) the consortium included: De Montfort University · Epic Games · i2 Media Research Limited · Intel · Magic Leap · Manchester International Festival · Marshmallow Laser Feast · Nesta · Phi Centre · Philharmonia Orchestra · Punchdrunk · University of Portsmouth (CCI) · The Space.

Explored the potential of real-time immersive performance connected across multiple platforms, creating opportunities for the UK cultural sector to change the way audiences experience live performance in thrilling new ways.