Our Director of Digital Development Sarah Ellis took a Deep Dive into The Tempest with Samantha Gorman, co-founder of Los Angeles games studio Tender Claws. The studio developed 'The Under Presents: Tempest’, the first game to have a live theatrical run with actors joining players remotely.

Our 2016 production of The Tempest, created in collaboration with Intel and in association with The Imaginarium Studio, used performance capture technology to bring digital avatars to life on stage in real time, interacting with live actors.

Speaking to an online audience of theatre makers, academics and policy-makers, they discussed how we can have a connection with audiences when we can’t all be together and how people want live performance more than ever.

Sarah and Samantha talked about why we both chose The Tempest to bring together theatre and technology innovation: the transformation the characters go through, the island full of noises and the elements of magic throughout the play.

They explored different ways of using theatre as well as how we can connect with audiences when we can’t all be in the same place, and how gaming and theatre can unite their communities through telling stories.