From interacting with the audience to involving non-professional actors, with both bottom up and top down approaches, the development of immersive performance has boomed. But what do we want to achieve by including audience in our performances? Is this just gamification of culture,  or an opportunity for audience members to create meaning in relation to their own life? What is the relationship of these participatory forms to the so-called high culture institutions that are quickly trying to adopt them? Is it right to assume that participation is essential for true audience engagement? Is it a process of cultural democracy or cultural democratisation? Is it a necessary process for the performance or a way to tick boxes of funding schemes?

This session will include a quick presentation of core ideas by a small group of practitioners, followed by an interactive session in which participants will have an opportunity to respond. Responses, which will be created collaboratively in small groups, will come in the form of verbal presentations or concise immersive performances. 

The session isn’t meant to provide answers or enforce an opinion, but give participants ideas to be further explored in their own work.

Please check the accessibility of the venue here.