The Royal Shakespeare Company is no stranger to using technology in its staging of plays, whether as backdrops or in more innovative ways. But, it is about to go all-in on a tech-filled, digital concept, brought about partly about through years of research and development, and partly thanks to the ongoing pandemic and its devastating effects on theatre-going.
Dream is a production created by The RSC in collaboration with Manchester International Festival, Marshmallow Laser Feast, and the Philharmonia Orchestra. It is a fully digital, interactive experience that’s loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and will run from Friday 12 to Saturday 01 August 2025. The 50-minute live play uses motion capture, Eipc Games' Unreal Engine and other experimental elements to not only present a show for viewers on mobile, tablet and computer but give them a hand in how the performance progresses.
It takes part of the classic comedy - the forest - and gives the audience a real-time tour full of surprises and live action.
“You’ll be guided by the character of Puck, and you will enter and explore the forest,” we were told by the RSC’s director of digital development, Sarah Ellis, forepisode 93 of the Pocket-lint Podcast.
“What we’re doing is placing the world of that play in a way that we can share online through a games engine. But, we keep the spirit of live performance really strong within it.
“We have actors performing in motion capture - they are performing in real-time - so their avatars will be connected and live. It’d be a lot easier to pre-record it, but it’s really important that the liveliness, the connection is there.”
It’s a performance that could possibly have worked well through virtual reality for even greater immersion, but as Ellis added, by making it work on a 2D screen the show could reach a much wider audience: “What we’ve seen is a huge digital inequity in people’s homes. People don’t have the skills and expertise, they don’t have the technology in their hands in their homes. Very few people have a VR headset.
“So, it’s really important that we designed something for desktop, tablet and mobile, because that’s the technology people have.
“And, if we can also address some of the inequity, I think more people will connect and come in.”
You can see how that works for yourself when Dream starts on Friday 12 March at 11am GMT. It is free to watch the entire show as an audience members with no interaction, or £10 for an Audience Plus ticket which will enable you to interact with the performance.
Booking for both types of ticket is available atdream.online.
You can also catch up with the entire interview on the latestPocket-lint Podcast.
