Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T09:44:56.511Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Extended Reality Shakespeare

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2024

Aneta Mancewicz
Affiliation:
Royal Holloway, University of London

Summary

This Element argues for the importance of extended reality as an innovative force that changes the understanding of theatre and Shakespeare. It shows how the inclusion of augmented and virtual realities in performance can reconfigure the senses of the experiencers, enabling them to engage with technology actively. Such engagements can, in turn, result in new forms of presence, embodiment, eventfulness, and interaction. In drawing on Shakespeare's dramas as source material, this Element recognises the growing practice of staging them in an extended reality mode, and their potential to advance the development of extended reality. Given Shakespeare's emphasis on metatheatre, his works can inspire the layering of environments and the experiences of transition between the environments both features that distinguish extended reality. The author's examination of selected works in this Element unveils creative convergences between Shakespeare's dramaturgy and digital technology.
Get access
Type
Element
Information
Online ISBN: 9781009043854
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 06 June 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abel, Lionel. (1963). Metatheatre: A New View of Dramatic Form. New York: Hill and Wang.Google Scholar
Aebischer, Pascale. (2020). Shakespeare, Spectatorship and the Technologies of Performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108339001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aebischer, Pascale. (2021). Viral Shakespeare: Performance in the Time of Pandemic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108943482.Google Scholar
Allred, Gemma Kate, Broadribb, Benjamin, and Sullivan, Erin, eds. (2022). Lockdown Shakespeare: New Evolutions in Performance and Adaptation. The Arden Shakespeare. London: Bloomsbury. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350247833.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anonymous. (2021). ‘Current, Rising – Royal Opera House, London (LAST CHANCE TO SEE)’. Salterton Arts Review. London Arts, Theatre and Heritage Reviews and Recommendations. 6 June. https://bit.ly/3tXqCt4.Google Scholar
Barba, Evan, MacIntyre, Blair, and Mynatt, Elizabeth D.. (2012). ‘Here We Are! Where Are We? Locating Mixed Reality in the Age of the Smartphone’. Proceedings of the IEEE, 100(4): 929–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bay-Cheng, Sarah. (2015). ‘Taxonomy of Distortion. Along the Media Performance Continuum’. In Performance and Media: Taxonomies for a Changing Field, edited by Bay-Cheng, Sarah, Starbuck, Jennifer Parker, and Saltz, David Z., 3964. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.5582757.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sarah, Bay-Cheng, Parker-Starbuck, Jennifer, and Saltz, David Z.. (2015). Performance and Media: Taxonomies for a Changing Field. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.5582757.Google Scholar
Benford, Steve, and Giannachi, Gabriella. (2011). Performing Mixed Reality. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Benford, Steve, Crabtree, Andy, Flintham, Martin, et al. (2006). ‘Can You See Me Now?’. ACM Transactions on Computer–Human Interaction, 13(1): 100–33. https://doi.org/10.1145/1143518.1143522.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jay David, Bolter, and Grusin, Richard. (2000). Remediation: Understanding New Media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Bowers, Fredson. (1940). Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy 1587–1642. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Broadribb, Benjamin. (2021). ‘Review of Pippa Hill’s Dream (Directed by Robin McNicholas for the Royal Shakespeare Company) at Portsmouth Guildhall. Performed and Streamed Online, 12–20 March 2021’. Shakespeare, 17(4): 492–5. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450918.2021.1950204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Broude, Ronald. (1975). ‘Revenge and Revenge Tragedy in Renaissance England’. Renaissance Quarterly, 28(1): 3858. https://doi.org/10.2307/2860421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bushnell, Rebecca W., and Ullyot, Michael. (2022). ‘Shakespeare and Virtual Reality’. In The Routledge Handbook of Shakespeare and Interface, edited by Werier, Clifford and Budra, Paul, 2943. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367821722-4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cartelli, Thomas. (2019). Reenacting Shakespeare in the Shakespeare Aftermath: The Intermedial Turn and Turn to Embodiment. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-40482-4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Causey, Matthew. (2016). ‘Postdigital Performance’. Theatre Journal, 68(3): 427–41. https://doi.org/10.1353/tj.2016.0074.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clapp, Susannah. (2021). ‘Dream Review – The RSC’s Hi-tech Shakespeare Only Goes So Far’. Guardian. 21 March. https://bit.ly/3u3fyuF.Google Scholar
Coghlan, Alexandra. (2021). ‘Current, Rising, Royal Opera House Review – A Joyful Celebration of Storytelling Possibility’. Arts Desk. 21 May. https://bit.ly/49D3G2X.Google Scholar
Çöltekin, Arzu, Lochhead, Ian, Madden, Marguerite, et al. (2020). ‘Extended Reality in Spatial Sciences: A Review of Research Challenges and Future Directions’. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 9(439): 129. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9070439.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crouch, Tim. (2022). Truth’s a Dog Must to Kennel. London: Methuen Drama.Google Scholar
Dalton, Jeremy. (2021). Reality Check: How Immersive Technologies Can Transform Your Business. London: Kogan Page.Google Scholar
Embley, Jochan. (2021). ‘Current, Rising at the Royal Opera House Review: A Terrifically Trippy Opera Experience’. Evening Standard. 19 May. https://bit.ly/3FPuoaA.Google Scholar
Falk, Dan. (2014). The Science of Shakespeare: A New Look at the Playwright’s Universe. New York: Thomas Dunne Books.Google Scholar
Fischer-Lichte, Erika. (2008). The Transformative Power of Performance: A New Aesthetics. Translated by Saskya Iris Jain. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Furht, Borko, ed. (2011). Handbook of Augmented Reality. New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0064-6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Georgi, Claudia. (2014) Liveness on Stage: Intermedial Challenges in Contemporary British Theatre and Performance. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goode, Lauren. (2019). ‘Get Ready to Hear a Lot More About “XR”’. Wired. 5 January. www.wired.com/story/what-is-xr/.Google Scholar
Hall, George. (2021). ‘Current, Rising’. Stage. 20 May. www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/current-rising.Google Scholar
Hemming, Sarah. (2021). ‘Poetry and Motion Capture in a High-Tech Dream’. Financial Times. 12 March. www.ft.com/content/805f3431-cbd0-4186-b5d4-cc3fd94617e7.Google Scholar
Hewett, Ivan. (2021). ‘Current, Rising, Royal Opera House, Review: “Virtual Reality” Is No Match for Serious Opera’. The Telegraph. 21 May. https://bit.ly/47l6uj7.Google Scholar
Holz, Thomas, Campbell, Abraham G., Gregory, M. P. O’Hare, John W. Stafford, Martin, Alan, and Dragone, Mauro. (2011). ‘MiRA – Mixed Reality Agents’. International Journal of Human–Computer Studies, 69(4): 251–68. https://doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2010.10.001.Google Scholar
Jenkins, Henry. (2006). Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Kattenbelt, Chiel. (2006). ‘Theatre as the Art of the Performer and the Stage of Intermediality’. In Intermediality in Theatre and Performance, edited by Chapple, Freda and Kattenbelt, Chiel, 29–39. Amsterdam: Rodopi. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789401210089.Google Scholar
Kattenbelt, Chiel. (2008). ‘Intermediality in Theatre and Performance: Definitions, Perceptions and Medial Relationships’. Cultura, Lenguaje y Representación [Culture, Language & Representation], 6 (La Intermedialidad [Intermediality]): 1929.Google Scholar
Kattenbelt, Chiel. (2010). ‘Intermediality in Performance and as a Mode of Performativity’. In Mapping Intermediality in Performance, edited by Bay-Cheng, Sarah, Kattenbelt, Chiel, Lavender, Andy, and Nelson, Robin, 2937. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. https://doi.org/10.5117/9789089642554.Google Scholar
Kattenbelt, Chiel. (2021). ‘On Artistic Research, Intermediality and the “Hamlet Encounters” Project’. In Performing/Transforming: Transgressions and Hybridizations Across Texts, Media, Bodies, edited by Puglisi, Floriana, 1737. Torino: Otto.Google Scholar
Nick., Kaye (2000). Site-Specific Art: Performance, Place and Documentation. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kirwan, Peter. (2021). ‘Dream Online (Royal Shakespeare Company) @ online’. University of Nottingham Blog Post. 20 March.https://bit.ly/3FNER6x.Google Scholar
Kott, Jan. (1967). Shakespeare Our Contemporary. Translated by Bolesław Taborski. London: Methuen.Google Scholar
Lamb, Hilary. (2021). ‘Theatre Review: “Dream”, the Royal Shakespeare Company’. Engineering and Technology. 17 March. https://bit.ly/3Qr5zqy.Google Scholar
Lavender, Andy. (2016). Performance in the Twenty-First Century: Theatres of Engagement. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203128176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, C. S. (1964). Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Li Lan, Yong. (2003). ‘Shakespeare as Virtual Event’. Theatre Research International, 28(1): 4660. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0307883303000142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacIntyre, Blair, Gandy, Maribeth, Dow, Steven, and David Bolter, Jay. (2004). ‘DART: A Toolkit for Rapid Design Exploration of Augmented Reality Experiences’. In Proceedings of the 17th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST ’04). ACM, New York, 197206. https://doi.org/10.1145/1029632.1029669.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mancewicz, Aneta. (2014). Intermedial Shakespeares on European Stages. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137360045.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mancewicz, Aneta. (2018). ‘From Global London to Global Shakespeare’. Contemporary Theatre Review, 28(2): 235–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/10486801.2017.1365716.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mancewicz, Aneta. (2023). ‘Liveness in VR and AR Shakespeare Adaptations’. In Early Modern Liveness: Mediating Presence in Text, Stage and Screen, edited by Rosvally, Danielle and Sherman, Donovan, 89110. The Arden Shakespeare. London: Bloomsbury. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350318502.0012.Google Scholar
McLuhan, Marshall. (1964 [2001]). Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Milgram, Paul, and Kishino, Fumio. (1994). ‘A Taxonomy of Mixed Reality Visual Displays’. IEICE Transactions on Information Systems, E77-D(12): 1321–9.Google Scholar
Milgram, Paul, Takemura, Haruo, Utsumi, Akira, and Kishino, Fumio. (1994). ‘Augmented Reality: A Class of Displays on the Reality–Virtuality Continuum’. Proceedings of SPIE – The International Society for Optical Engineering, 2351, Telemanipulator and Telepresence Technologies: 282–92. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.197321.Google Scholar
Müller, Jürgen E. (2010). ‘Intermediality and Media Historiography in the Digital Era’. Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Film, and Media Studies, 2: 1538.Google Scholar
Nedelkopoulou, Eirini, Joris, Eric, Bekaert, Philippe, and Vanhoutte, Kurt. (2014). ‘On the Border Between Performance, Science and the Digital: A Conversation with CREW’. International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, 10(2): 246–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/14794713.2014.946290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, Robin. (2010). ‘Experiencer’. In Mapping Intermediality in Performance, edited by Bay-Cheng, Sarah, Kattenbelt, Chiel, Lavender, Andy, and Nelson, Robin, 45. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. https://doi.org/10.5117/9789089642554.Google Scholar
Nelson, Robin. (2022). Practice as Research in the Arts (and Beyond): Principles, Processes, Contexts, Achievements, 2nd ed. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90542-2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O’Connell, Jarlath. (2021). ‘RSC’s Dream Online’. The American. 17 March. www.theamerican.co.uk/pr/rev-th-RSC-Dream-Online.Google Scholar
Oliver, Ben. (2020). ‘The Royal Opera House Presents Current, Rising, the World’s First Opera in Hyper Reality’. Royal Opera House News. 23 November. https://bit.ly/3SQR7uX.Google Scholar
Ormerod, Peter. (2021). ‘REVIEW: RSC’s Experimental Dream Gives an Intriguing Glimpse into the Future of Live Entertainment’. Northampton Chronicle & Echo. 17 March. https://bit.ly/3MBWXfo.Google Scholar
Penn, Louise. (2021). ‘Review: Dream (RSC, VR Online)’. 21 March. https://loureviews.blog/2021/03/21/review-dream-rsc-vr-online/.Google Scholar
Pluta, Izabella. (2010). ‘Hybridity’. In Mapping Intermediality in Performance, edited by Bay-Cheng, Sarah, Kattenbelt, Chiel, Lavender, Andy, and Nelson, Robin, 186–7. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. https://doi.org/10.5117/9789089642554.Google Scholar
Postlewait, Thomas, and Davis, Tracy C.. (2003). ‘Theatricality: An Introduction’. In Theatricality, edited by Davis, Tracy C. and Postlewait, Thomas, 139. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Aswin, Punathambekar, and Mohan, Sriram. (2019). ‘Introduction: Mapping Global Digital Cultures’. In Global Digital Cultures: Perspectives from South Asia, edited by Punathambekar, Aswin and Mohan, Sriram. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.9561751.Google Scholar
Rauschnabel, Philipp A., Felix, Reto, Hinsch, Chris, Shahab, Hamza, and Alt, Florian. (2022). ‘What Is XR? Towards a Framework for Augmented and Virtual Reality’. Computers in Human Behavior 133, article 107289: 118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts-Smith, Jennifer. (2022). ‘What Can Shakespeare Do for Virtual Reality?’. In Shakespeare and Virtual Reality, edited by Wittek, Stephen and McInnis, David, 411. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009003995.Google Scholar
Robinett, Warren. (1992). ‘Synthetic Experience: A Proposed Taxonomy’. Presence, 1(2): 229–47. https://doi.org/10.1162/pres.1992.1.2.229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rouse, Rebecca. (2015). ‘MRx as a Performative and Theatrical Stage’. Digital Creativity, 26(34): 193206. https://doi.org/10.1080/14626268.2015.1100121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rouse, Rebecca, Engberg, Maria, JafariNaimi, Nassim, and David Bolter, Jay. (2015). ‘MRx: An Interdisciplinary Framework for Mixed Reality Experience Design and Criticism’. Digital Creativity, 26(34): 175–81. https://doi.org/10.1080/14626268.2015.1100123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
RSC. (2021a). ‘Dream Q&A’. https://bit.ly/3u83ath.Google Scholar
RSC. (2021b). ‘In Conversation with Pippa Hill and Robin McNicholas’. https://bit.ly/3u5pELw.Google Scholar
Sauter, Willmar. (2000). The Theatrical Event: Dynamics of Performance and Perception. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press.Google Scholar
Schmitt, Carl. (2006). Hamlet or Hecuba: The Irruption of Time into Play. Translated by Simona Draghici. Corvallis, OR: Plutarch Press.Google Scholar
Sen, Amrita, ed. (2022). ‘Introduction: Experiencing Digital Shakespeares in the Global South’. In Digital Shakespeares from the Global South, edited by Sen, Amrita. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04787-9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shakespeare, William. (1999). The Tempest. Edited by Vaughan, Virginia Mason and Vaughan, Alden T.. The Arden Shakespeare. London: Thomson Learning.Google Scholar
Shakespeare, William. (2007). Hamlet. Edited by Thompson, Ann and Taylor, Neil. The Arden Shakespeare. London: Thomson Learning.Google Scholar
Shakespeare, William. (2017). A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Edited by Chaudhuri, Sukanta. The Arden Shakespeare. London: Bloomsbury.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soloski, Alexis. (2021). ‘Review: Living the “Dream,” on Your Laptop or Phone.’ New York Times. 17 March.https://bit.ly/47546NK.Google Scholar
Speicher, Maximilian, Hall, Brian D., and Nebeling, Michael. (2019). ‘What Is Mixed Reality?’. In CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Proceedings (CHI 2019), 49 May, Glasgow, Scotland, UK, ACM, New York, USA. https://doi.org/10.1145/3290605.Google Scholar
Sullivan, Erin. (2022). Shakespeare and Digital Performance in Practice. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05763-2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sutherland, Gill. (2021). ‘Interview: EM Williams on Playing Puck in New Digital Dream Now on at the RSC’. Stratford-upon-Avon Herald. 13 March.https://bit.ly/3sxqAaX.Google Scholar
Vanhoutte, Kurt, and Bigg, Charlotte. (2014). ‘On the Border Between Performance, Science and the Digital: The Embodied Orrery’. International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, 10(2): 255–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/14794713.2014.946291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webber, Samuel. (2004). Theatricality as Medium. New York: Fordham University Press. https://doi.org/10.5422/fso/9780823224159.003.0001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weijdom, Joris. (2017). Mixed Reality and the Theatre of the Future: Fresh Perspectives on Arts and New Technologies. Brussels: IETM. www.ietm.org.Google Scholar
Wittek, Stephen, and McInnis, David. (2022). Shakespeare and Virtual Reality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009003995.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolf, Matt. (2022). ‘RSC “Dream” Is an Inventive, Condensed Take on the Bard’. London Theatre. 25 January. https://bit.ly/3QQcb37.Google Scholar
Worthen, W. B. (2017). ‘Shakespearean Technicities’. In The Oxford Handbook of Shakespeare and Performance, edited by Bulman, James C., 321–40. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199687169.013.36.Google Scholar
Worthen, W. B. (2020). Shakespeare, Technicity, Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108628464.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nele, Wynants, Vanhoutte, Kurt, and Bekaert, Philippe. (2008). ‘Being Inside the Image – Heightening the Sense of Presence in a Video Captured Environment through Artistic Means: The Case of CREW’. In PRESENCE 2008, Proceedings of the 11th Annual International Workshop on Presence. Padova, 16–18 October. Edited by Spagnolli, Anna and Gamberini, Luciano, 157–62. Padova: CLEUP.Google Scholar

Save element to Kindle

To save this element to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Extended Reality Shakespeare
  • Aneta Mancewicz, Royal Holloway, University of London
  • Online ISBN: 9781009043854
Available formats
×

Save element to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Extended Reality Shakespeare
  • Aneta Mancewicz, Royal Holloway, University of London
  • Online ISBN: 9781009043854
Available formats
×

Save element to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Extended Reality Shakespeare
  • Aneta Mancewicz, Royal Holloway, University of London
  • Online ISBN: 9781009043854
Available formats
×