The future of live performances

Leaders in XR and immersive storytelling, Nexus Studios have developed a new toolkit which aims to reinvigorate the live events industry by enabling performances to be captured and streamed live from the stage and into your home via augmented reality (AR). 

We need the arts now more than ever and heightened restrictions across the world have decimated the theatre and live venue industries. Based on the findings of a recent R&D project with Dr Rebecca McCutcheon and Dr Aneta Mancewicz, funded by StoryFutures, Nexus Studios has developed an innovative prototype which enables performances to be captured and streamed live in AR, straight from stage to home. 

In a prototype reimagining Shakespeare’s The Tempest in AR, not only are audiences able to experience the performance live but they are able to enjoy a deeper sense of immersion by personalising their experience. They are granted unprecedented access to change sets and manipulate scenes by adapting the lighting or interacting with the environment as well as  getting up close and personal with characters as the performance is happening. 

By using consumer grade technology (mobile phones and tablets), LiveAR brings theatrical performances and other live experiences to the masses. Drawing on facial tracking, pose tracking and audio streaming, on pre-existing mobile devices, the toolkit doesn’t rely on expensive motion capture suits or hardware. This modest hardware requirement makes it accessible to small and medium scale venues as well as larger businesses looking to reach audiences in innovative ways.

Lead organisation

Nexus Studios

Hardware

iPhone 11

Team

Executive Producer: Colin Davis
Producer: Helen Broadbridge
Creative Director: Kim-Leigh Pontin
Technical Lead: Jen Haugan
Creative Technologist: Hannah Corrie
Academic Consultants Dr Rebecca McCutcheon and Dr Aneta Mancewicz
Artistic Associate Chris Goode 
Performance by Tonderai Munyevu and Flora Wellesley Wesley 
Original sound by Matt Padden