National Youth Theatre × StoryFuture (StoryFest 2025)

Freedom vs Democracy

Overview

A sharp, hybrid digital theatre piece commissioned by the National Youth Theatre for StoryFuture, part of StoryFest 2025, and supported by Microsoft, StudioCanal, and Urban Myth Films.

Directed entirely remotely by Founder Tanya Vital, this bold experiment in virtual theatre-making explored what happens to performance in an AI-driven world. Developed collaboratively with a young ensemble inside Spatial and Discord, the piece fused Shakespearean text, satirical spoken word, and immersive virtual world-building.

Format & Delivery

• Short-form hybrid performance

• Performed in Spatial (VR platform)

• Rehearsed via Discord, built in Spatial’s NYT World

• Presented 25 July 2025 at NYT’s Workshop Theatre (London)

• Livestreamed with audience Q&A

lEoN

Themes & Tone

Satire meets sci-fi in this poetic and politically charged digital performance, where AI surveillance, freedom vs democracy, and technocratic control shape the theatrical landscape.

Framed as a broadcast to the past, the piece invites audiences into a future where theatre is no longer physical, but virtual, immersive, and algorithmically filtered.

Remixing Shakespearean conflict, spoken word, and virtual worldbuilding, the work questions who holds creative power in an era of Big Tech.

Tone: Theatrical, urgent, speculative, with moments of satire and sincerity.

Impact

• Named a highlight by NYT for pushing the boundaries of live digital performance

• Actors developed new skills in remote devising, avatar performance, and creative tech

• Strong foundation for future exploration into fully live VR theatre experiences with wider access