Immersive performance is rewriting the rules of how stories are told - and the artists, producers, and creative leaders shaping that movement now have a place to train, grow, and build. Juggerknot Theatre Company - the force behind Miami Motel Stories, Miami Bus Stop Stories, and over a decade of groundbreaking immersive and site-specific work - and Live Arts Miami - a powerhouse presenter behind three decades of bold, genre-defying work that reimagines audience-artist relationships - are back with the Miami Immersive Intensive (MII). This year, MII also introduces a landmark new addition: the Miami Immersive Summit - a full fourth day open to a wider audience, presented in partnership with South Florida PBS and The Immersive Experience Institute, featuring keynotes, industry panels, and conversations with the artists and innovators shaping the future of the form. Among the first confirmed Summit speakers: Andrew Scoville and Heidi Boisvert of Theater of the Mind - the groundbreaking immersive experience created by David Byrne, co-created with Mala Gaonkar, and hailed by The New Yorker as “an ambitious addition to the genre of immersive art” - and Asher Young, Executive Producer and Creative Director of Masquerade, the new immersive take on The Phantom of the Opera currently generating buzz in New York. The full Summit lineup is to be announced soon. Image: Miami Immersive Intensive MII is on a mission: to position Miami as a national leader in immersive training and creation — building long-term support networks for emerging and mid-career artists while opening the door to performers, directors, designers, producers, and presenters ready to push their practice into new territory. Taking place June 4th to 7th, 2026 at Miami Dade College's Wolfson Campus, MII 2026 delivers four days of hands-on workshops, industry conversations, and curated cultural experiences — bringing the world's leading immersive practitioners directly to Miami's doorstep. Juggerknot Theatre Company's Miami Bus Stop Stories Tanya Bravo, Artistic Director at Juggerknot Theatre Company, comments: For too long, Miami artists have had to leave their city to access world-class training in immersive performance. That changes here. The Miami Immersive Intensive exists to bring that conversation - and that opportunity - home Kathryn Garcia, Executive and Artistic Director at Live Arts Miami, adds: Immersive performance asks artists to think differently - about space, audience, and connection. Investing in the next generation isn't just about training. It's about trusting them to experiment, take risks, and build the future of this field. This year, MII goes bigger - with 12+ world-class teaching artists descending on Downtown Miami for three days of immersive training unlike anything available in the region. The program opens with a keynote by Jennine Willett, Co-Artistic Director of Third Rail Projects - the New York company behind the long-running hit Then She Fell - exploring how narrative serves as the infrastructure of transformative experience. Third Rail Project's Then She Fell. Photo: Dariel Sneed Joining her is David Feiner, co-founder of Albany Park Theater Project, who, together with Willett, will lead a workshop on the making of their critically acclaimed collaboration, Port of Entry - shared publicly for the first time. Returning to MII is Mikhael Tara Garver, founder of Culture House Immersive and director of Disney's THEA Award-winning Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. Zach Morris, fellow Co-Artistic Director of Third Rail Projects, Brandon Powers, Lincoln Center Collider Fellow and XR choreographer, Sadah Espii Proctor, Director of Immersive Media at South Florida PBS, Miami playwright Juan C. Sanchez of Miami Motel Stories, and Abraham Burickson, co-founder of Odyssey Works and author of the Yale University Press book on Experience Design, round out an extraordinary roster. And joining virtually: Casey Jay Andrews of Punchdrunk - designer of Viola's Room and The Burnt City - for an exclusive deep-dive into the Punchdrunk design process. Albany Park Theatre Project's Port of Entry Noah Nelson, Founder, No Proscenium & The Immersive Experience Institute, comments: For immersive experiences to have a future, the most experienced practitioners of today have to share their knowledge with the next generation of makers. This is exactly what will happen at the Miami Immersive Intensive and the Summit that will follow it. The future has to be built beat by beat — and that's what Juggerknot Theatre Company and Live Arts Miami are doing. Sadah Espii Proctor, Director of Immersive Media, South Florida PBS, comments: South Florida PBS is proud to be part of this conversation. We are committed to growing a dynamic XR and immersive community across South Florida — and MII is exactly the kind of gathering that makes that possible. When we bring trust, empathy, and innovation together in the same room, that's where the future of storytelling gets built. Explore the full schedule and program details at www.miamiimmersiveintensive.com.

Image: Lightroom Lightroom have confirmed details of a groundbreaking show, David Bowie: You’re Not Alone, which will transport visitors into the iconic performances and creative mind and spirit of one of the world's most visionary and influential artists. Featuring the artist as its sole voice, David Bowie: You’re Not Alone is both a multimedia spectacle and an intimate and revealing self-portrait. The 360° experience, produced by Lightroom and designed by 59, a Journey studio, is written and directed by 59’s Mark Grimmer (Creative Director for the V&A’s 'David Bowie Is' exhibition) and Tom Wexler. You’re Not Alone will showcase some of Bowie’s landmark performances that redefined popular culture, using a mixture of iconic, rarely seen and never-before-exhibited material, selected from thousands of hours of film in the vaults of the David Bowie Archive in New York, from Space Oddity through Diamond Dogs and 'Heroes' to ★. Photo: Lightroom Audiences will have the chance to feel they have travelled through time to experience Bowie in performance - up close and first-hand. Each track in the show has been newly reconfigured to utilise Lightroom's specialised spatial audio system by multiple Olivier and Tony award-winning sound designer Gareth Fry (Harry Potter & The Cursed Child, David Bowie Is). Instead of magnifying the myth through the lens of his characters - Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, Halloween Jack, The Thin White Duke - You’re Not Alone places its focus on the man behind the masks: the provocateur, the polymath, the shapeshifting icon in his enduring, human form. The film is structured in thematic chapters in a looping presentation, giving a unique insight into Bowie's perspective on the subjects most important to him, including: theatricality, spirituality, songwriting and the transformative power of creativity. There are surreal moments, like the transatlantic TV interview with Russell Harty in 1975, in which Bowie artfully takes control of the narrative, and the interviewer was reduced to asking him questions about the colour of his hair. Elsewhere, the reconstructed set of the inimitable Diamond Dogs tour materialises before our very eyes, igniting a Bowie performance unlike any other captured on film. Photo: Lightroom Bringing together a wealth of visual material from a wide range of sources, the show combines rare performance footage, photography, drawings, lyrics, personal notes and audio recordings. David Bowie: You're Not Alone will celebrate Bowie's boundless curiosity as a force that connected people across continents and generations, as well as his enduring cultural impact today. The show builds on Lightroom’s growing repertoire of critically acclaimed shows that have now been seen by over 1.5 million visitors globally, including creative collaborations with David Hockney, Tom Hanks, Anna Wintour, Vogue and Apple TV. David Bowie: You're Not Alone is being made in close collaboration with and authorised by the David Bowie Estate. Photo: Lightroom Mark Grimmer, who also wrote and directed Lightroom’s David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller and further away) said: It says something about our relationship with artistic heroes that we're drawn to mystery, otherness, the alien... In Bowie's case, this is our construct, not his. Throughout his career, Bowie repeatedly resisted being figured as anything but human. Rather than undermining his mystique, we designed a show to celebrate Bowie as a champion of human creativity - focusing on the message he expressed time and again: that art, in all its forms, is our best hope for understanding what it means to be alive. David Sabel, Executive Producer at Lightroom said: Lightroom offers an incredible opportunity to step inside an artist’s imagination and creative universe – weaving film, photography, animation, text and music into a story that can only be experienced in this space. I cannot think of an artist more suited to this than David Bowie. To spend time in his world as it comes to life around you and to travel back and forth across the decades of astonishing performances, whether reliving them or experiencing them for the first time, is a total thrill. Working so closely with RZO and the David Bowie Archive has been a great privilege. David Bowie: You're Not Alone will run at Lightroom near King's Cross from 22nd April 2026. Tickets are priced from £25 for adults and £15 for students and concessions. For more information and to book tickets, visit lightroom.uk

Image: Lightroom Lightroom has today announced Bowie Nights, a series of cross-disciplinary Spring and Summer events celebrating the life and work of David Bowie, featuring major artists influenced by his work, from Anna Calvi to Jonathan Barnbrook to Adam Buxton. The season will run from May to September 2026. Each Bowie Night will take place at Lightroom in King’s Cross, the unique immersive venue which will host the major new production David Bowie: You’re Not Alone from 22nd April. Photo: Lightroom Announced today: Jonathan Barnbrook on Designing Bowie (19th May), a special talk by the renowned graphic designer who collaborated with Bowie on every album from Heathen to ★; a Bowie Nights: Behind The Lens (26th May) featuring Bowie collaborators Geoff MacCormack, Kevin Cummins, Richard Young, Brian Aris, Denis O’Regan and Chris Duffy, son of Brian Duffy. The six photographers will be joined on stage by author and journalist Miranda Sawyer to discuss their selected works on Bowie; Adam Buxton’s BUG Bowie Special (17th June, 2nd-4th July), in which the British podcaster and comedian presents his celebrated live show exploring Bowie’s most iconic music videos; and Anna Calvi and Carlos Alomar in Conversation with Guitars (10th June), where the esteemed British songwriter and Bowie’s musical director, co-writer and guitarist unpack his songs for a live audience through a blend of discussion and musical demonstration. The first musical performance has also been announced, with a unique cello recital by acclaimed composer and cellist Peter Gregson (3-5th September), which will be on sale soon. As part of the BOWIE NIGHTS programme, Lightroom will extend opening hours on selected Friday evenings. Each Bowie Late will celebrate a different era of Bowie’s career, beginning with the 1970s on 1st May, when audiences are encouraged to dress in their best ’70s and Bowie-inspired outfits and enjoy the show alongside a themed cocktail menu. Lightroom CEO Richard Slaney said: David Bowie: You're Not Alone invites audiences at Lightroom to experience the imagination and creativity of David Bowie. It vividly depicts how he played with, and drew upon all forms of culture in his music and performance; so, it's a natural extension to explore his impact through this fantastic series of events, featuring both artists who worked with him and those who continue to be inspired by his legacy. Written and directed by 59’s Mark Grimmer (Creative Director for the V&A’s David Bowie Is exhibition) and Tom Wexler, it will showcase some of Bowie’s landmark performances that redefined popular culture, using a mixture of iconic material, selected from thousands of hours of film in the vaults of the David Bowie Archive in New York, from Space Oddity through Diamond Dogs and Let’s Dance to ★. Photo: Lightroom Audiences will have the chance to feel they have travelled through time to experience Bowie in performance - up close and first-hand. Each track in the show has been newly reconfigured to utilise Lightroom's specialised spatial audio system by multiple Olivier and Tony award-winning sound designer Gareth Fry (Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, David Bowie Is). The show is fully authorised by the David Bowie Estate. David Bowie: You're Not Alone will run at Lightroom near King's Cross from 22nd April 2026. Tickets are priced from £25 for adults and £15 for students and concessions. For more information and to book tickets, visit lightroom.uk. For further details on Bowie Nights, visit lightroom.uk/bowie-nights

Following a sell-out debut, Alibi: Dead Air returns to Theatre Deli for a four-week run from 22nd April to 16th May 2026. Alibi is an immersive murder-mystery experience inspired by the Jubensha game phenomenon; a format originating in China that has rapidly become one of the fastest-growing entertainment categories in the world. A true crime podcast host is dead. She was closing in on a serial killer, but someone silenced her first. Twelve people have been brought together to figure out what happened. Everyone in the room had a motive. Everyone has something to hide. And one of them is the killer. Named one of No Proscenium's top experiences of 2025 and nominated for the Audience Choice Award, the show brings back London's first Jubensha-inspired immersive murder mystery and this time, more audiences will get the chance to find out if they have what it takes to catch a killer. Or get away with murder... Equal parts social deduction game, mystery solving and live theatre, Alibi places audiences at the centre of a criminal investigation where no one can be trusted, including themselves. On arrival, each guest is assigned a character with their own secrets, motivations and relationship to the victim. They step into the evidence room, learn the details of the case, and then the game begins by interrogating fellow players, unravelling clues and deciding who to trust, who to expose, and what to conceal. When the time comes, each player makes their accusation. The killer, if they've played their hand well, may walk free. Alibi's debut run sold out and generated significant word of mouth, with audiences returning to play again with different character assignments and new strategies. The four-week return run represents a significant expansion of access to the experience. Alibi is created by Dean Rodgers and Tom Black, two of the most experienced names in immersive game design working in the UK today. Dean is a producer and game designer behind some of London's most celebrated immersive experiences. His work spans across The Crystal Maze Live Experience, Time Run and The Perfect Crime. He is currently Experiential Director at Studio Secret Cinema. Tom is a writer and performer specialising in highly interactive immersive work. He is a member of Parabolic Theatre, with whom he created shows including Crisis? What Crisis?, and is the co-founder of award-winning interactive mystery-makers Jury Games. He is currently Chief Operating Officer of Bridge Command. Dean Rodgers, Co-Creator of Alibi, comments: Jubensha has quietly become one of the biggest entertainment formats in the world, and almost nobody in the West has heard of it yet. We're adapting it and building a version of it that belongs in this city and for this audience. Tom Black, Co-Creator, adds: Selling out the original run meant every night brought completely different groups of people to crowd around the wall of evidence and attack the mystery differently. There’s a joy in seeing how they guard their own secrets while searching for everyone else’s. By the end, they’re trading tips and bits of evidence with others for information that might get them closer to the most important secret of all: the killer’s identity. Alibi: Dead Air runs at Theatre Deli near Aldgate East from 22nd April to 16th May 2026. Tickets are priced from £35.20. For more information and to book tickets, visit alibi.london

Photo: UNCLE BARRY Immersive Rumours: Hi Ariana and Mia! Thanks for speaking with us today. To kick things off, do you mind telling us a bit about your work as UNCLE BARRY and how you came to start making immersive/interactive theatre? Ariana Aragon: Hey! Our theatre company, UNCLE BARRY, is made up of Mia and me at its core. We started the company because we share a common interest in experimenting with theatrical form and making interactive work rooted in hope. Right now, we’re getting ready to take our first show, Uncle Barry’s Birthday Party, to Edinburgh. We can’t wait. It’s a birthday party where guests arrive to celebrate Uncle Barry, who seems to have a different relationship with everyone in the room. He’s a mythical man. Pretty magic. The show is absurd, playful, and has a lot of heart. Since it’s rooted in improv and collective storytelling, there’s a great deal of unpredictability based on the people in the room that night. The guests, combined with Barry and the co-creative party setting, really make the show what it is. We listen to the moment at hand and people in the room, and each time it’s a different ride! In a couple of weeks, UNCLE BARRY is also hosting a creative retreat-meets-immersive theatre getaway weekend in Portugal called Edge of Eden. We’re also in the midst of devising our next show, a movement-based interactive production in a dance den, with our friends and collaborators Morgan and Flora, titled PLEASE. Mia Foster: Whilst the company UNCLE BARRY is the home for all our shared projects and work as individuals, we're always collaborating with other people and artists across our projects. We’re lucky that for Uncle Barry’s Birthday Party, for example, once we had the concept for the piece and applied for Side/Step, we started working with a group of seven brilliant performers. The UNCLE BARRY family extends beyond us, but it’s the company name under which Ariana and I officially work. IR: How did you both first meet? Ariana: We started making theatre together after meeting on our Master's course. We both study at Royal Central School for Speech and Drama on Advanced Theatre Practice. I used to work in tech, and decided to do a full career shift at the age of 31 because I was ready to put more of my energy into creative work. I’d been throwing these increasingly elaborate themed and theatrical events, and wanted to see how I could do this theatrical play thing more officially… and I found theatre-making and the Advanced Theatre Practice course. Mia: I had 100 different jobs after my undergrad, and have always loved writing, but before starting the course, I was working in marketing and living in Shropshire. I hadn’t had anything to do with theatre for years, but managed to find my way back to it through writing, acting workshops, and luck. I came onto the Advanced Theatre Practice not really knowing what to expect, but feeling I was in the right place. I first met Ariana at the tube station. She was the first person to describe what immersive theatre was to me. I used to interview strangers and write about it, and so interactive and immersive theatre sparked something in me. We were having great conversations about people interacting with one another and the amazing interactions we had both had in our personal lives that led to so many great adventures, and our fear that there were less of these moments happening day to day because maybe people were afraid of speaking to strangers or spending more time either working at home or on screens. So we initially bonded over our interest in that. Photo: UNCLE BARRY IR: Your debut show, Uncle Barry’s Birthday Party, has recently been at Voidspace Live and debuted at Side/Step Festival earlier in the year. How did it first come about? Ariana: I remember we had a long conversation on my couch about what we were sensing among our generation and even younger, of people being less willing to take risks to interact because so much of life is now moderated through convenience and digitally through a phone. That was a driving motivation for us. How can we approach theatre with this lens of facilitating play and risk-taking with strangers? We were chewing on this for about a month when Deadweight’s Side/Step Festival was being promoted to our cohort. While holding our seed - and honestly, a lot of this was over Zoom, ironically - we concepted Uncle Barry's Birthday Party. I was back in Florida for a few weeks, so while in random Florida coffee shops with really kitschy sharks in the background, on Zoom with Mia, we were talking about ‘What is this show actually going to be? We need a frame to anchor this interactive form we’re curious about.’ Mia: We described it in the application to Side/Step as a series of escalating invitations. We knew that the space for the festival was a restaurant, and we knew we wanted to make an immersive piece of theatre, so it was really the combination of those two things that led us to a birthday party. And then Uncle Barry came and saved us all. Ariana: Initially, Side/Step were like ‘Hey, we love it, but we need more. What is this thing?’ so we really were building the plane as we were flying it. Mia: As soon as we had a title and we knew the space, we immediately got performers in a room, and that's when, as a group, we dived into devising around this form and sketch that we were initially interested in. Ariana: Once we formed the initial concept, Domi and Jack from Side/Step were very generous with their time and expertise as we were developing the show. They asked great questions and helped with dramaturgy and directing, all while being supportive of our unconventional form. Mia: Yeah, they were great and very generous. And then Katy came to the show at Side/Step and offered for us to perform at Voidspace Live, which was so exciting. Photo: James Lawson IR: For those that haven't been to Uncle Barry's Birthday Party, the structure of it is essentially everyone gets together in a room and the question posed to most of the audience is, ‘How do you know Uncle Barry?’, with the audience connecting through their answers to that question and creating a shared mythology. What’s your hope for people's takeaway from the show? Mia: Lynne [Kendrick], our teacher, said recently, ‘Rather than asking the question ‘What is this about?’ instead ask ‘What does it do?’. That weirdly gave me confidence in the fact that we had started with this interesting experience, form and structure, and so much of the experience of Uncle Barry's Birthday Party is in the process of creating, and not only creating yourself, but also co-creating. Something beautiful that happens in Uncle Barry’s Birthday Party is this collision of narratives and collision of ideas and opinions. Everyone's got their own narrative, and everyone has their own perspective of things, and yet we're all here together. I think Uncle Barry's Birthday Party is a space where we can explore that idea through the realm of play, but there's a lack of pressure to know the answer because there's no right or wrong Uncle Barry. And to do that at a celebration of life, a birthday party, is hopefully something that contributes to the experience for audiences and means something to them. Ariana: We’ve both been more focused as creators on the stories that come from responding to the moment at hand and people in the room, rather than imposing our stories onto the audience. It’s about trusting the audience in a way, and trusting the stories that come from their experience and process of actually participating in the world. From the start, we were so focused on the experience that we almost didn't have enough threads. We didn't even have that initial question of ‘How do you know Uncle Barry?’ when we first created it. When audience members would come, we would say, ‘Oh, hi! Do you know Uncle Barry? It was a closed question, and they'd turn around and say, ‘No,’ or we'd ask, ‘Hi! How did you hear about the party?’ We wanted people to participate, but it took the two events at Side/Step for us to realise that we needed an open-ended question to create the kind of collective, imaginative experience for the audience. Mia: There’s also something about it being in a birthday party setting, which means, hopefully, they don't feel that they have to make this massive leap into the world beyond having RSVP'd/bought a ticket and being asked, ‘How do you know Uncle Barry?’. That was important to us because we wanted to create an environment where people can participate as much or as little as they like, and the experience still works. Some people arrive and have a full character party persona, but most people have been to a birthday party, so even if they don't want to perform to the same extent, they can just be themselves, and that's enough. Our favourite feedback has been from people saying they never usually speak to this many strangers because they’d be too nervous, or that they don’t usually like this sort of thing, but found the show really fun. That feels special. Photo: James Lawson IR: For a company like yourselves, how important is it to have festivals like Voidspace Live and Side/Step to get this show in front of audiences and have the chance to work out what the show really is? Mia: Firstly, the show would never have happened if we hadn't had Side/Step to apply for. We never would have learned these things if we hadn't had Voidspace Live to go on to. The show doesn't work unless we're performing in front of an audience because we can only ever half rehearse. Because of the experimental side of the questions that come from playing in participatory theatre, Uncle Barry is ever evolving… From these festivals, we’re learning so much about how to build a story and structure in which so much of the magic comes from audience interaction. There’s no way it would be possible without seeing the show up on its feet. There are things you find happening in a show you could never have imagined in a rehearsal. Especially when it comes to immersive stuff. It wouldn't exist without either Side/Step or Voidspace. Ariana: Having the chance to perform the show repeatedly is teaching us the balance of driving the performance versus allowing it to unfold from the audience. The audience has a lot of power in the ending. I think without having more exposure to the possibilities, we can be too controlling or too passive. Even just these four shows have given us a lot more wisdom to be more discerning in how we approach each audience interaction. Mia: The core mechanic of it is this kind of co-creation, which is the heart of the show. Unless we're with an audience, we never know the capacity, the potential, or the possibilities that can happen in those moments. IR: You've got a lot more opportunities to explore these ideas next month, when the show goes to the Edinburgh Fringe. How are you feeling going into that? Do you think it's going to be a very different show by the end of that Fringe run? Ariana: I'm feeling good. Mia: I'm so excited. Ariana: I think what's really nice about the show so far is that we've done a lot of the groundwork. We're going to rehearse more beforehand to strengthen our performance and make some adjustments from Voidspace, but the core of the show is there. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if it's a different show at the end. That's something we've talked about too - how do we want to make changes during the run, what does decision making look like? We want to be responsive, and we want to learn from Fringe, but we also want to hold the core. Mia: Because so much of the show is about the creation of narratives, it's an exciting and risky game that we're playing, doing nine shows back to back around Uncle Barry. It's going to be important for us, I think, at the end of each night to dispel the Barry of that evening before going into the next day. The beauty of the show is that it's the people in the room, in the moment, that decide who Uncle Barry is and what this party means. If we, by accident, as everyone does, start building narratives around what's happening and events at the Fringe, we are going to start building a narrative that is more set than we would like, going into each show fresh with new audiences. It's going to be an exciting challenge for our core mechanic and our ability as performers to wipe the slate clean so that we’re able to be completely open-minded and open-hearted when all these incredible, inventive, exciting, new ideas about Uncle Barry and why we're all here come flooding in. Photo: James Lawson IR: In the performances you’ve done so far, what’s been the best response you’ve had to the question of ‘How do you know Uncle Barry?’ Ariana: I won’t use the kidney one, but that is actually one of my favourites... [NB: IR said Uncle Barry donated a kidney to them when they attended the show] IR: Thank you… Ariana: I really loved the last show when someone said they chopped wood for Uncle Barry. What an interesting window… What happens when you chop wood for someone for so long? What happens when someone teaches you to chop wood? I think that was very fun. Mia: One night we had a plumber for Uncle Barry, and the following night, Barry was someone's plumber. On both nights, they plugged their business numbers. They gave out the plumbing number for Uncle Barry, and they broadcast their plumbing company. I enjoyed the serendipity of that. Ariana: I want to start logging the Barry’s. I am genuinely entertained during the entire show as we’re performing it from these stories people come up with. Mia: Someone met Barry when they were coming out of a supermarket. Their bags split, and all their fruit and shopping fell out, and Barry was the person to come and help. IR: It’s like a romcom meet-cute! Mia: Yeah, it's such a meet-cute that they'd then come to the birthday party! I like it when people say things like ‘Oh, he's a friend of a friend’ because then I wonder, ‘Well, what the hell are you doing here? He must have had such an impact on you for you to have come all this way.’ That's always a fun line to go down. My friend Sam claimed he studied Long English with Barry at university. We said ‘What is Long English?’ and he said he had no idea. I liked the guy who was going on cruises with Barry. Apparently, Barry was one for taking the ladies back to the cabin. Someone made clocks with Barry. Something mysterious happened with Barry and my friend Fran on a fishing trip… We had Barry’s therapist - that was a good one. IR: It’s hard to pin down exactly who Barry is… Mia: Yeah. You know… when we were making it, the question of ‘Who is Uncle Barry?’ was constantly going through our minds. Throughout our day, we would be sending photos of things going ‘That's so Uncle Barry'. You'd see someone and you'd say, ‘I've just met someone who's so Uncle Barry’, or you'd see a line in a book and say, ‘This is so Uncle Barry’. We realised that actually, Uncle Barry is an energy or an essence that’s not up for us to define and tell other people. Listening to what was happening throughout the process and noticing that, yeah, Uncle Barry is different for everyone, and yet there’s this energy that everyone knows when they feel it. Everyone makes up their own Uncle Barry; we just have to listen. Uncle Barry’s Birthday Party is at the Edinburgh Fringe between 9th and 17th August 2025 at Muse at Braw Venues @ Hill Street (Venue 41). Tickets are priced from £14.00 and can be booked via edfringe.com

With nearly 4,000 shows on offer across the month of August, planning a visit to the Scottish capital is a daunting task. Here's our guide to five interactive and immersive shows at Edinburgh Fringe that are worth your time. Spreadsheets at the ready! With nearly 4,000 shows on offer across hundreds of venues in the Scottish capital this August, the month-long arts festival is a daunting event to tackle - even for those who have been multiple times. To help out, we've combined our top five recommendations for interactive and immersive shows at Edinburgh Fringe. While this is by no means an exhaustive list, it's a solid jumping-off point for anyone looking to see what the Fringe has to offer this summer. Darkfield - FLight Photo: Mihaela Bodlovic Darkfield has been a staple of Edinburgh Fringe for a number of years now. Staged with a 40ft long shipping container made to resemble the interior of an Airbus A320, FLIGHT is an immersive audio experience that takes place in total darkness. Over the course of 30 minutes, visitors will experience two different realities - one in which the plane lands safely, the other in which it doesn't. It's an intense experience that's unlike anything else at the Fringe. Ladies and gentlemen, we’d like to direct your attention to the on-board safety demonstration and ask that you give us your full attention. In the unlikely event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure alternative scenarios will be provided. Next of kin will be provided. Additional desserts will be provided. An extra pillow. Trumpets and gongs. Neither Heaven nor Hell is assured. We’re not responsible for your final destination. The many worlds interpretation of Quantum Mechanics proposes all possible outcomes that could occur are occurring in countless worlds of varying similarity. Maybe there is some comfort in knowing that however ill advised your choices have been - there is a version of you who made better ones and is suffering from less regret and embarrassment. FLIGHT takes place in absolute darkness inside a 40ft shipping container. Its interior exactly resembles an Airbus 320 economy cabin and over 30 minutes explores the Many-Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics, taking audience members through two worlds, two realities and two possible outcomes to their journey. There are many worlds in which this plane lands safely. 📍 Pleasance Dome, Potterrow Plaza - Container 1 (Venue 23) 💰 From £12.00 🕒 31st July - 26th August 2024, 30 minutes 🎟️ Book via tickets.edfringe.com Temping - Dutch Kill Theatre Company Temping is an interactive solo show performed by the audience with the collaboration of a Windows PC, a corporate phone, a laser printer and Microsoft Office. The pace of the show is dictated by the audience member: how many emails they respond to, how fast they complete the tasks, and how much of the office they decide to explore. Writer Michael Yates Crowley said, “I was interested in the idea that inanimate objects and technology could be performers. That I could write for a phone or fax machine the way you would write for an actor. Or at least that characters could speak through these devices—just as in our lives, particularly during the worst moments of the pandemic, the people that matter to us appear as messages and phone calls and streaming video. The last two Edinburgh Fringes and the Adelaide Fringe gave us such insight into how different cultures react to the piece. Every performance is unique and it is really fascinating to watch diverse audiences react to the piece so differently." Contrasting the anonymity of recording births and deaths in Excel spreadsheet with furtive moments of human intimacy, this interactive show from Dutch Kills Theater and Wolf 359 examines mortality, capitalism and the value of a human life. Sarah Jane Tully, a 53-year-old actuary, has gone on vacation and the audience member steps in to cover for her. As they update her spreadsheets, they realise her job involves calculating the life expectancy of strangers. Meanwhile, an intra-office romance is spilling out of the printer, the phone bleeps with recorded messages, emails land in the inbox, and all the inner life of Sarah is there for anyone who has access to her cubicle and computer. Temping is a show with no performers, just an audience and the ether. 📍 Assembly George Square Studios (Venue 17) 💰 From £15.50 🕒 3rd-25th August 2024, 50-70 minutes (audience dependent) 🎟️ Book via tickets.edfringe.com Non-Player Character: A Virtual Reality Musical A leader in combining live theatre with virtual reality and gaming, Non-Player Character: A Virtual Reality Musical is the latest in Brendan Bradley’s experimentation with innovative storytelling tools to reach new audiences. Since 2010, he has been writing, producing and performing a range of online series and from 2017 has been looking at more ways to merge technology into live performance. For this version of the show, Bradley is offering other artists taking part in Edinburgh Festival Fringe the opportunity to be the four ‘Players’ taking part in the musical each night, similar to a Twitch “let’s play” but live, on-stage. A boundary-pushing fusion of immersive, improvised theatre and video games where no two performances are the same; this virtual reality musical invites the audience to influence the narrative through on-stage and spectator participation. Award-winning actor and creator Brendan Bradley portrays a non-playable character (NPC) of a fictitious video game who is joined on-stage by four ‘Players’ wearing VR headsets, along with seated spectators and audiences watching from home through a live stream who assist in creating the story via a mobile web app. After the hero dies, participants travel through the five levels of the game’s open-world setting that represent the five stages of processing grief, set to a soundtrack of original songs inspired by hit Broadway numbers, pop music, and the chiptune musical style found in video games, along with improvised music reflecting the evolving narrative from an onstage musician. Non-Player Character aims to make a deeper connection between the audience and performer. 📍 Imaginex at YOTEL Edinburgh in association with ZOO (Venue 572) 💰 From £15.00 🕒 2nd-26th August 2024, 21:00, 60 minutes 🎟️ Book via tickets.edfringe.com Burning Down THe Horse - Fishing 4 Chips After an award-winning run in 2023, Fishing 4 Chips return to Edinburgh this summer with Burning Down the Horse. Bigger and better than ever, this immersive comedy epic tells the “true” story of what happened on the Trojan Horse. The audience become soldiers and are witness to the build-up to one of the most precarious military missions of all time. All goes well until lowly carpenter Epieus gets stuck onboard - unwilling to be wheeled towards certain doom, he starts a revolution and the soldiers that surround him are forced to choose where their loyalties lie. Burning Down the Horse is an immersive comedy play written by two best friends who hate immersive plays. Dotted through the show are pockets of audience interaction alongside a pre-show that starts from outside the venue - a unique brand of gentle immersion that has proven to be a hit with all audiences. Last year, Burning Down the Horse won Best Comedy Performance (Sean Wareing) and Best Director (Maya Shimmin) at the 2023 DarkChat Awards alongside ‘Best Ensemble’ at The Stagey Place Awards. Fishing 4 Chips first performed the show at last year's Edinburgh Fringe after being finalists of the Charlie Hartill Reserve, selling out the entire month-long run and receiving an OFFIE nomination. This show is perfect for the Edinburgh Fringe - silly, funny and interactive but with a genuine heart. 📍 Pleasance Dome - Queen Dome (Venue 23) 💰 From £14.00 🕒 31st July - 25th August 2024 (excluding 14th), 13:00, 60 minutes 🎟️ Book via tickets.edfringe.com Darkfield - Arcade ARCADE is the latest show from Darkfield, and first debuted at Lakeside Arts in Nottingham earlier this year. It's an immersive choose-your-own-path experience that immerses players in alternate environments, allowing you to navigate a conflict in which your choices have consequences... Speaking on the arrival of ARCADE at the Fringe, Darkfield had this to say.... “We're very excited to be returning to our home at Summerhall, with our most ambitious show to date, ARCADE. It's been a long time in the making. We really hope our audience enjoys exploring the world they are immersed in, aware that there are many other paths through it they could have chosen. We're really looking forward to the conversations the audience will be having with each other afterwards, and hopefully seeing them return to discover new paths!” ARCADE is the latest immersive audio experience from Darkfield. Using the nostalgic aesthetic of 1980s video games, ARCADE's interactive narrative explores the evolving relationship between players and avatars. Over 30 minutes in a completely dark shipping container, this choose-your-own-path experience will fully immerse the players using 360 degree binaural sound, sensory effects and a bespoke Darkfield Arcade machine for each player. Players will be asked existential questions about free will and consciousness in a world where some may win and some may lose... 📍 Summerhall - The Terrace (Venue 26) 💰 From £13.00 🕒 31st July - 26th August 2024, 30 minutes 🎟️ Book via tickets.edfringe.com For more news on immersive experiences, follow Immersive Rumours on Instagram.

The acclaimed actor, most recently seen opposite Cate Blanchett at the Barbican, will discuss building audiences, community and belonging. Tom Burke, one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation, will appear at On Sale Live 2026 on 15th May 2026 at King’s Cross, London. At On Sale Live 2026, Tom will be in conversation with Dawn Farrow, Founder of On Sale Group, in a session titled Building Audiences from the Ground Up: Why Local Communities Matter More Than Ever. Tom most recently starred opposite Cate Blanchett in THE SEAGULL at the Barbican. He appeared alongside Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth in George Miller’s FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA, played Orson Welles in David Fincher’s Oscar-nominated MANK, and has starred opposite Florence Pugh, Bill Nighy, Helena Bonham Carter and Andrew Scott across a body of work spanning major film, television and theatre. He is also the founder of Wheelwrights, a theatre company rooted in community-first thinking, built on the principle of creating work based on what communities are actively seeking. Tom Burke. Photo: Rhys Frampton Tom Burke's decision to appear at a dedicated marketing event underlines a shift across the live experience economy. The people creating the work are now part of the conversation about how it reaches an audience. Tom Burke trained at RADA and won the 2008 Ian Charleson Award for his performance in Creditors at the Donmar Warehouse. On screen, Tom can most recently be seen opposite Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth in George Miller’s FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA, in Steven Soderbergh’s BLACK BAG, and in Sebastian Lelio’s THE WONDER opposite Florence Pugh. He played Orson Welles in David Fincher’s Oscar-nominated MANK, and starred in Joanna Hogg’s THE SOUVENIR, which won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at Sundance 2019 and for which he was nominated for a BIFA and Critics' Circle Award for Best Actor. Other credits include Oliver Hermanus’ acclaimed LIVING alongside Bill Nighy and Netflix’s THE CROWN opposite Helena Bonham Carter. His television work includes the titular role in the hit BBC series STRIKE opposite Holliday Grainger, the BBC mini-series WAR AND PEACE directed by Tom Harper, and Athos in THE MUSKETEERS for the BBC. Tom recently wrapped on Amazon’s BLADE RUNNER 2099 series and Kasia Adamik’s THE WINTER OF THE CROW. He will next be seen in LEGENDS for Netflix opposite Steve Coogan, Hugo Blick’s BBC series CALIFORNIA AVENUE, and Lenny Abrahamson’s feature HILLSIDE DRIVE alongside Eve Hewson. On stage, Tom most recently starred in THE SEAGULL at the Barbican opposite Cate Blanchett. His theatre credits include the role of John Rosmer in ROSMERSHOLM, THE DEEP BLUE SEA at The National Theatre opposite Helen McCrory, and DESIGN FOR LIVING at the Old Vic alongside Andrew Scott. Tom Burke’s fireside chat sits alongside a programme designed to cover every conversation the experience economy is having right now, and a few it hasn’t started yet. Photo: On Sale Group Highlights include a keynote from Kelly Estrella, Chief Operating Officer at Allied Global Marketing, titled Selling the Invisible: Why Live Experiences Are Harder to Market and More Valuable Than Ever. Kelly’s session will explore what it really takes to convert audiences in the experience economy, why traditional marketing approaches fall short when applied to live, and how the most effective campaigns go beyond promotion to build confidence, reduce perceived risk and create a compelling reason to show up. Drawing on her global experience across entertainment, lifestyle and location-based experiences, Kelly will unpack the emotional and commercial drivers behind ticket sales. The wider programme features speakers and sessions from Tulleys, Little Lion Entertainment, Sonia Friedman Productions, Ballet Nights, Blast, Sing Eat Retreat and more, with programming spanning future technology, future audiences and the future workforce. Photo: On Sale Group On Sale Live 2026 is the UK’s only dedicated conference for marketers, sales leaders and ticketing professionals working across the experience economy. Now in its second year, the 2026 event is already up 20% year on year in attendance and heading for a sell-out. The programme covers uncertainty, fandom, interactivity, cultural fashion, AI and search, and outside-sector perspective.

Photo: The Magicians Table After captivating more than 50,000 guests and earning a reputation as London’s most sought-after immersive nights out, The Magicians Table, has announced a major next chapter: a move to The Vaults in Waterloo, opening on Thursday, 4th June 2026. The Magicians Table centres on the story of Dieter Roterburg, a legendary magician and carnival owner whose recent passing sets the stage for an unforgettable evening. The experience unfolds as a piece of immersive theatre, with actors and magicians interacting with the audience and performing close-up illusions at each table, accompanied by a curated menu of inventive cocktails. The show will play its final performance at its original venue in 49 Tanner Street on 26th April 2026. Photo: The Magicians Table The new Waterloo venue will introduce an expanded format, including extended routines, new magicians joining the rotating cast, a brand-new cocktail menu, a permanent cocktail bar, late-night show sessions running until 2am and new weekend matinee shows. Opening week will feature a series of special performances and guest appearances. These limited-edition performances are expected to be in high demand, giving audiences the chance to experience the production at its most ambitious. Photo: The Magicians Table Executive Producer Tom Greenwood-Mears said: This move allows us to do everything we’ve always wanted to do with The Magicians Table. The new venue opens up a whole new range of creative possibilities for the show, making it more magical and more immersive than ever. We’re excited to give Londoners the chance to truly immerse themselves in our world of magic! Photo: The Magicians Table The Magicians Table will run at The Vaults in Waterloo from 4th June 2026. Tickets are priced from £69.00 per person and can be booked via magicianstablelive.com

A Ukrainian-British immersive production inspired by Salvador Dalí's only novel will make its London debut this May, with four performances at Kingswood House. Cachés: clé à Dalí is an immersive surrealist show fusing visual spectacle and intimate storytelling, set against the backdrop of pre-World War II Europe. Inspired by Dalí's exploration of desire, dreams and the imminence of war, the performances are an R&D showcase for a production with ambitions to open as a long-running experience in London. Set across multiple rooms at Kingswood House, Cachés: clé à Dalí follows three interconnected couples against the backdrop of pre-war Europe. The show takes the audience to a fraught dinner party at a French estate, the beach at Cadaqués, where Dalí and Gala first met and a whimsical surrealist party in 1939 that does not end as expected. Poignant, provocative and deeply sensory, Cachés: clé à Dalí asks what we hide from the world, what we bury inside ourselves, and what survives when everything else is lost. Photo: Anna Sandul On 23rd February 2022, the original creative team gathered in Kyiv for a photoshoot at the Chocolate House, the venue selected for the world premiere of Cachés: clé à Dalí, scheduled for 29th March 2022. The following morning's rehearsal was to feature a scene entitled The Face of War, inspired by Salvador Dalí's painting of the same name. That night, russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The rehearsal did not take place. The premiere was cancelled. The production has survived. Cachés: clé à Dalí had been living in the world of the imminence of war long before it became reality. Salvador Dalí's novel is prophetic. So, it turns out, was this production. Anastasiya Yevchenko, Writer, Director and Producer, comments: Thematically, the show asks if history always repeats itself, what can we then do to break the vicious cycle of wars, dictators and destruction? We want to show Ukraine not as a victim of war but as a country protecting the world’s freedom and democracy. A country where theatre is blooming as an act of unification and resilience. A country full of creative, innovative, and fearless ideas and people. We wish to tell our story through a unique lens, creating a new style: immersive surrealism. Cachés: clé à Dalí is written, directed and produced by Anastasiya Yevchenko, a Ukrainian theatre-maker and producer. She is the founder of the NGO, New Ukrainian Drama and in 2022, Yevchenko brought the project to London as a participant in the Artists at Risk cultural residency programme at Glass Half Full Productions, supported by the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund and the UNESCO-Aschberg Programme for Artists and Cultural Professionals. In 2024, she was awarded a Developing Your Creative Practice bursary from Arts Council England to develop the project further and is currently a participant in the Stage One Bridge the Gap Producer Programme 2025-2026. The London R&D is produced in association with HH Productions and Owen Kingston. The R&D team includes designers Mariia Kero, Geoffrey Leahy and Natasha Finch, lighting designer Sophie Telfer, sound designer Gabriel Burns, featuring original music by Georgy Bystryakov and sound design by Yana Shlyabanska. The show's cast is led by Peter Broughton, Polina Snisarenko-Kulchytska, Joe Leather, Denys Rodnianskyi and Nastasya Korablina. Cachés: clé à Dalí runs at Kingswood House near Sydenham Hill station from 13th to 15th May 2026. Tickets are Pay What You Can, and can be purchased via cachesuniverse.com

Image: Park Theatre Park Theatre have announced the final wave of celebrity guest sheriffs for Whodunnit [Unrehearsed] 4, the next instalment of its hugely popular fundraising comedy spectacular, which returns from 11th to 27th June 2026 with the most ambitious version yet. At every performance, a different celebrity will take on the central role of Sheriff – completely unrehearsed! Armed only with an earpiece feeding them lines moments before they speak, each guest must attempt to solve the murder, survive the mayhem and keep the show on track, while the audience watches events spiral in gloriously unpredictable ways. Making their Whodunnit debuts this year will be Anne-Marie Duff, Toby Jones, Tim McInnerny, Katherine Parkinson, Sara Pascoe, Simon Pegg, Iwan Rheon, Gaby Roslin, Gary Wilmot, Suzi Ruffell and Munya Chawawa. They will be joining returning but newly announced Whodunnit alumni Amanda Abbington, Clive Anderson, Gyles Brandreth, Michelle Collins, Nina Conti, Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, David Haig, Harry Hill, Adam Hills, Russell Kane, Matt Lucas, Gareth Malone, Gabriel Macht, Tim McInnerny, Ian McKellen, Al Murray, Dermot O'Leary, Tamzin Outhwaite, Clarke Peters, Rob Rinder, Rhashan Stone, Meera Syal, Bradley Walsh, Jodie Whittaker, Olivia Williams, Marcus Brigstocke and Greg Wise. Previously announced guest sheriffs include Gillian Anderson, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Bonneville, Adrian Dunbar and Emma Thompson, with Ian McKellen returning to lend his voice to the chaos. Photo: Craig Sugden Set in the lawless Wild West town of Graveside, Whodunnit [Unrehearsed] 4 will see Park Theatre transformed into a fully immersive world – taking over the entire building for the first time, from the street outside to the bars, foyers and both auditoria as a new sheriff rides into town, tasked with solving the mystery of the missing gold. Accompanying the celebrity guest sheriffs in the cast will be Toby Baddeley (The Rivals and Twelfth Night with The New Forest Players and Antigone with Vienna’s English Theatre) as ‘Buck Steed’, Caroline Deverill (Whodunnit [Unrehearsed] 2 & 3 at Park Theatre, Typical Rainbow with Turbine Theatre), as ‘Dawn Frencham’, Gabriel Fogarty-Graveson (The Co-op at Park Theatre and English Theatre of Hamburg, Our Little Life at the Black Box Studio, Slovenia, The Merry Wives of Windsor with OVO), as ‘Jim Ranson’, Iona Fraser (The Creakers, Southbank Centre / Theatre Royal Plymouth, The Play That Goes Wrong, Duchess Theatre, Dear Evan Hansen, West End), as ‘Verity Hargreaves’, Edward Kaye (multi-instrumentalist making his London theatre debut) as ‘James Early’, Ian Oakley (Dracapella, Park Theatre, The Color Purple, UK Tour) as Willy the Pianist, Matthew Romain (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Ambassadors Theatre, The Score, Theatre Royal Haymarket, Grapes of Wrath with National Theatre) as ‘Rev. Virgil’, Susanna Wolff (Whodunnit & her one-woman show Totally Fine, Park Theatre) as ‘Meg Frencham’ and ensemble roles to be played by Molly Barton and Killian Macardle. Photo: Craig Sugden Whodunnit [Unrehearsed] 4 is a vital fundraiser for Park Theatre, which receives no regular public subsidy. Proceeds from the production directly support the running of the building, the development of new work, and the theatre’s extensive community and education programmes – helping Park Theatre remain an accessible, creative hub for artists and audiences alike. For 2026, audiences will step straight into Graveside the moment they arrive, with the exterior of the building reimagined as a Wild West streetscape, and both levels of the theatre’s bars dressed with hay bales, whisky barrels and Old West décor. Studio space Park90 becomes The Last Chance Saloon – an exclusive immersive space for cabaret seat and Band A+ ticket holders. Here, audiences will find themed drinks, nibbles, live music, roaming characters and mock gambling, alongside a dedicated cloakroom and bar. A fully themed food and drink offer completes the experience, with a selection of Old West-inspired cocktails available to enjoy. Photo: Craig Sugden Jez Bond, co-writer & director, and Park Theatre’s Artistic Director said: We are absolutely delighted to welcome these incredible new guest Sheriffs to Park Theatre; The generosity of the artists who agree to throw themselves into Whodunnit [Unrehearsed] — completely unrehearsed — never ceases to amaze me. We never announce which celebrity is performing on which night, because the surprise is part of the fun. Book a ticket, and you’re guaranteed someone extraordinary — a national treasure, a comedy icon or a stage legend — stepping into the boots of the Sheriff and flying by the seat of their chaps. Every performance is different, gloriously unpredictable, and every single one helps support Park Theatre. It’s high-wire theatre with a serious purpose behind it — and that’s exactly what makes it so thrilling. Whodunnit [Unrehearsed] 4 runs at Park Theatre near Finsbury Park from 11th May to 27th June 2026.

Photo: Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition This June, Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition, an award-winning, spectacular hi-tech immersive experience, will open its doors at The NEC Campus on 19th June 2026, for a limited 12-week run. Following hugely successful runs in cities such as Madrid, Hamburg, Cairo, Sao Paulo, Barcelona, Vienna, Malmö, London, Glasgow and Stockholm, the groundbreaking 2,000 square metre exhibition invites visitors to step back in time and embark upon an exhilarating journey through ancient Egypt, discovering the myths and mysteries surrounding Pharaoh Tutankhamun. Created in collaboration with Egyptologists and historians, the exhibition features one of Europe’s most expansive immersive video mapping rooms with projections on 8-metre-high surfaces. Blending cutting-edge technology with Egyptian history, the Birmingham edition of Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition will transport visitors through six creatively designed galleries that delve into the fascinating lives of ancient Egyptians. Photo: Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition Guests will enter via an interactive walkway which leads into a museal area presenting captivating background stories about Egyptian civilisation alongside carefully curated replicas and artefacts. Following this, the experience continues into a huge immersive video mapping room which recounts the rich history of Egypt, its natural landscapes, cultural heritage, the life of Tutankhamun, his tomb, and its groundbreaking discovery. The moment of the discovery of the tomb is described in a recorded interview of Howard Carter, the famous British archaeologist, adding an extraordinary layer of authenticity to the experience. After visitors will also embark on a 360-degree seated virtual reality experience, journeying into the mystical Egyptian afterlife before stepping into an interactive digital metaverse walk-through of the Valley of the Kings, exploring Howard Carter's basecamp, and reliving the monumental moment of the 1922 discovery in its full glory. Photo: Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition At the end of the experience, every visitor will be able to capture a memento of their day with a photograph in the AI photobooth, where they will be transformed into a citizen of ancient Egypt. The approximate 85-minute journey through ancient Egypt's rich history and mythology features a wealth of educational and informative displays, historical documents, original artefacts and replicas from ancient Egypt, and has been designed with children, families, schools and history enthusiasts in mind, as well as those interested in ground-breaking technology. The soundtrack has been composed specifically for the experience and is performed by an orchestra, immersing visitors further into the magic of ancient Egypt. Photo: Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition Promising a truly unforgettable journey into the world of ancient Egypt, Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition has already wowed 2.5 million visitors worldwide, garnering widespread acclaim and winning three prestigious Telly Awards. Located at The NEC Campus in Birmingham, this exciting new exhibition will be easy to access via train, bus and car and promises to be exhilarating, entertaining and educational in equal measure. The experience joins a packed line-up of family-friendly events and experiences at the NEC Campus, with Peppa Pig Space Adventure, The Gladiators Experience and Titanic Exhibition all taking place this summer. Deputy CEO of the NEC, Sarah Harvey, said: We can’t wait to bring Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition to the NEC Campus this summer. As the Nation’s Experience Capital, we’re always exploring ways to bring exciting new content to our venues, and this exhibition fits perfectly with that ambition. Photo: Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition will run at The NEC in Birmingham from 19th June to 13th September 2026. Tickets are priced from £22 for Adults, £15.50 for Children, and Family Bundles (4-6 tickets) from £16.50. For more information and to sign up for the waitlist, visit tutankhamunexperience.com

Artwork Design: Emile Chen. Photography: Chris Nash As part of Theatre-Rites 30th anniversary year, the company will premiere a new immersive promenade production, Return to the Forest, at Manchester's Aviva Studios, before moving to Sadler's Wells East this May. In a celebration of heritage and our connection to the natural world, Return to the Forest blends dance and puppetry to create an immersive production for families and children aged 8+. Audiences are invited into a museum where precious objects are kept to be seen but never touched. But as dusk falls, the precious objects stir, seeming to call to the last remaining visitors, yearning to be free. Return to the Forest explores how heritage is not something to be locked away, but a living, breathing force that requires respect and care. Marking their 30th anniversary, Theatre-Rites reunites with award-winning South African choreographer Gregory Maqoma (The Global Playground, Manchester International Festival 2021) to deliver their signature style of experimental theatre for children. Return to the Forest is a high-energy performance that guides audiences in promenade, moving them from the museum to an enchanted forest. Through powerful movement and mesmerising puppetry, Return to the Forest follows five performers out of the museum and back into nature, magically transported by precious objects – including an Ishoba, an ancient map and a Gelede mask – which are yearning for their freedom. With a surveillance camera watching at all times, the daring questors stage a heist. But can it really be one when the objects are leading the way? In a tale of curiosity and transformation, this production offers children and families a playful, thought-provoking exploration of what we value, how we protect it and who our heritage belongs to. Return to the Forest makes its World Premiere at Aviva Studios, home of Factory International, which also runs the biennial Manchester International Festival, before opening in London at Sadler’s Wells East. Director of Return to the Forest and Artistic Director of Theatre-Rites Sue Buckmaster said: I feel honoured to have this opportunity to co-create once more with Gregory and a brilliant collaborating team. It feels very special to be able to make an original performance which is for children and adults to share and experience together. I am super excited to combine some contemporary masquerade and puppet figure concepts with exquisite dancers. I hope the experience will offer the artists involved and the audiences who attend; a precious moment to ponder on and celebrate the importance of the interdependence of nature and human nature. Choreographer Gregory Maqoma said: Return to the Forest with Sue Buckmaster and Theatre-Rites opens a space for audiences to engage not only with culture, but with heritage and the deeper question of what still matters in the world. It is a shared journey into the forest to discover, to renew, and to learn. Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Factory International John McGrath said: We're thrilled to be working once again with Theatre-Rites and world-renowned choreographer Gregory Maqoma - a creative collaboration born of Manchester International Festival in 2021. Five years on, Return to the Forest combines their expertise to create a visually stunning, energetic and thought-provoking arts experience for all ages. Sue Buckmaster is the Artistic Director of Theatre-Rites, a puppetry expert and the fifth generation of theatre practitioners in her family. She is known for her unique puppet whispering technique, and her work is celebrated for its use of Animism. She has directed over 30 theatre and site-specific productions for Theatre-Rites, including The Welcoming Party and The Global Playground (MIF 2017/2021) and Mischief (Sadler’s Wells and Dance Touring Consortium). She also works as a mentor, dramaturg and external director and has collaborated with other companies, including directing Chotto Desh and Chotto Xenos for the Akram Khan Dance Company. Gregory Maqoma is an internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer. Born in Soweto, he began dancing in the late 1980s to escape political tensions. After training at Moving into Dance from 1990, he became Associate Artistic Director in 2002. He founded Vuyani Dance Theatre in 1999 while studying at PARTS in Belgium. He's collaborated with renowned artists including Akram Khan and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. His accolades include three-time FNB Vita Choreographer of the Year, 2002 Standard Bank Young Artist Award, 2012 Tunkie Award for Leadership in Dance, and France's Chevalier de L'ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2017). Theatre-Rites is an award-winning leader in experimental theatre for children, recognised nationally and internationally for its imaginative touring and site-responsive productions. The company has created over 30 theatre-based and immersive productions for children and families in the UK and internationally. Committed to intercultural collaboration and working across disciplines, Theatre-Rites presents children with striking, contemporary imagery while placing audiences at the heart of each experience to foster a sense of agency. Notable productions include Mischief (TMA Award, Achievement in Dance), Houseworks, The Lost and Moated Land, Journey of a Refugee (ETTIE Award; OFFIE Award), Zoe’s Peculiar Journey Through Time, and Paradise. Theatre-Rites Puppets, Objects & Sites (published 2021) was written by Dr Sue Buckmaster and Dr Liam Jarvis. Return to the Forest runs at Manchester's Aviva Studios from 7th to 10th May 2026, and London's Sadler's Wells East from 28th to 30th May 2026. For more information and to book tickets, visit theatre-rites.co.uk