All the world’s a stage... ERROR: STAGE NOT FOUND
National Youth Theatre x StoryFuture (StoryFest 2025)
What happens when theatre leaves the stage and enters the metaverse?
In this bold digital experiment, director Tanya Vital leads a team of young actors into the world of immersive storytelling using Spatial, Discord, and AI-driven worldbuilding tools to explore what theatre looks like when it goes fully virtual. Part live performance, part machinima, part provocation; this piece asks what we lose and what we gain when technology becomes both our stage and our storyteller.
Overview
A hybrid virtual theatre piece commissioned by the National Youth Theatre for StoryFuture, part of StoryFest 2025. Supported by Microsoft, StudioCanal, and Urban Myth Films, the project combined remote performance, live VR, and digital worldbuilding to explore the future of theatre in a world shaped by AI, big tech, and collapsing public space.
Performed live at NYT’s Workshop Theatre and streamed online, the piece was devised by young performers and directed entirely remotely from Bradford by Tanya Vital.
Themes & Tone
Satire meets sci-fi: AI surveillance, digital resistance, freedom vs democracy
Framed as a broadcast to the past: welcoming humans into the new age of theatre
Remixing Shakespeare, spoken word, and technocratic worldbuilding
Tone: urgent, theatrical, politically sharp
Format & Delivery
Short digital theatre performance in Spatial (VR platform)
Rehearsed and devised entirely online via Discord
Final presentation: hybrid of pre-recorded scenes and live performance from NYT
Worlds explored: virtual nightclub, ruins, dystopian offices, and custom NYT theatre
Performance Structure
1. Spoken Word Welcome (Live)
Performed in Spatial using VR
2. lEoN Monologue (Pre-recorded)
Technocrat speech remixing Richard III, performed across 3 virtual worlds
3. Freedom vs Democracy (Pre-recorded)
Ensemble scene built from Capulet/Montague text + original writing
4. Closing Words (Live)
Spoken word outro to reframe the audience’s relationship to theatre, tech, and agency
Outcomes
Commissioned by National Youth Theatre
Delivered as part of StoryFuture, a showcase of experimental storytelling
Cast gained skills in avatar performance, spatial blocking, and remote devising
Praised by NYT as a highlight of the StoryFuture scratch night
Role
Tanya Vital served as Creative Director, leading:
Remote rehearsals and devising over Discord
Digital world exploration and shot planning
Tech testing, audience experience planning, and performance delivery
Links & Media
Final video clips available upon request
Want to Collaborate? Get in touch to explore workshops, consulting, or commissions in digital theatre, avatar direction, or immersive performance strategy.
