Watching, attending, sense-making: spectatorship in immersive theatres

Article


Machon, J. 2016. Watching, attending, sense-making: spectatorship in immersive theatres. Journal of Contemporary Drama in English. 4 (1), pp. 34-48. https://doi.org/10.1515/jcde-2016-0004
TypeArticle
TitleWatching, attending, sense-making: spectatorship in immersive theatres
AuthorsMachon, J.
Abstract

This paper addresses the aesthetic, corporeal and intellectual dimensions of spectatorship in immersive theatre. Immersive work engages audiences at an experiential level and within environments that prompt multisensory engagement and explorative forms of audience participation. Immersive theatre makers, such as De La Guarda, dreamthinkspeak and Punchdrunk, have been making internationally recognised work throughout the twenty-first century. While audience interaction and participation has attracted a great deal of scholarly attention over the past few years, the significance of watching in immersive theatre remains elusive and merits further consideration. Drawing on Immersive Theatres (Machon, 2013) and referencing a full range of practice that is exemplary, this paper describes and defines ‘immersive theatres’ in broad terms. Using Punchdrunk’s The Drowned Man (2014-15) as illustration, it considers the types of experience to be had and the qualities of watching that result in such events. In turn it addresses the type of ‘sense’ individuals can make when they are spectators to their own interactions, attendant to their actions and reactions.

Keywordsembodied spectatorship; immersive; interaction; Punchdrunk (syn)aesthetics; The Drowned Man
Research GroupTheatre Arts group
PublisherDe Gruyter
JournalJournal of Contemporary Drama in English
ISSN2195-0156
Electronic2195-0164
Publication dates
Print01 May 2016
Online12 May 2016
Publication process dates
Deposited05 Sep 2016
Accepted16 Oct 2015
Output statusPublished
Publisher's version
Copyright Statement

The final publication is available at www.degruyter.com: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/jcde-2016-0004

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1515/jcde-2016-0004
Web of Science identifierWOS:000436519400004
LanguageEnglish
Permalink -

https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/86747

  • 74
    total views
  • 35
    total downloads
  • 3
    views this month
  • 2
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

The aesthetics of immersion in Punchdrunk's The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable
Machon, J. 2017. The aesthetics of immersion in Punchdrunk's The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable. in: Atkinson, S. and Kennedy, H. (ed.) Live Cinema: Cultures, Economies, Aesthetics. London Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 219-230
Naomi Wallace and the politics of desire
Machon, J. 2013. Naomi Wallace and the politics of desire. in: Stevens Abbit, E. and Palmer, S. (ed.) The innovative theatre of Naomi Wallace: embodied dialogues Palgrave Macmillan.
Blind(fold)ed by light in Lundahl & Seitl’s Symphony in a Missing Room: thinking out loud in the dark
Machon, J. 2014. Blind(fold)ed by light in Lundahl & Seitl’s Symphony in a Missing Room: thinking out loud in the dark. Theatre in the Dark.. University of Surrey, SeedPOD Nodus Centre. 12 Jul 2014
Missing rooms and unknown clouds: darkness and illumination in the work of Lundahl & Seitl
Machon, J., Lundahl, C. and Seitl, M. 2017. Missing rooms and unknown clouds: darkness and illumination in the work of Lundahl & Seitl. in: Alston, A. and Welton, M. (ed.) Theatre in the Dark: Shadow, Gloom and Blackout in Contemporary Theatre London Bloomsbury Methuen Drama. pp. 147-168
Audience improvisation in the immersive experiences: the sensuous world of the body in the work of Lundahl & Seitl
Machon, J. 2019. Audience improvisation in the immersive experiences: the sensuous world of the body in the work of Lundahl & Seitl. in: Midgelow, V. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Improvisation in Dance Oxford University Press (OUP). pp. 671-686
(Syn)aesthetics and immersive theatre: embodied beholding in Lundahl & Seitl’s Rotating in a Room of Images
Machon, J. 2013. (Syn)aesthetics and immersive theatre: embodied beholding in Lundahl & Seitl’s Rotating in a Room of Images. in: Shaughnessy, N. (ed.) Affective performance and cognitive science Bloomsbury Methuen Drama.
On being immersed: the pleasure of being: washing, feeding, holding
Machon, J. 2017. On being immersed: the pleasure of being: washing, feeding, holding. in: Frieze, J. (ed.) Reframing Immersive Theatre: The Politics and Pragmatics of Participatory Performance Basingstoke, UK Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 29-42
Punchdrunk
Machon, J. 2015. Punchdrunk. in: Tomlin, E. (ed.) British theatre companies: 1995-2014 Methuen Drama.
(Syn)aesthetics: redefining visceral performance
Machon, J. 2011. (Syn)aesthetics: redefining visceral performance. Basingstoke, UK Palgrave Macmillan.
Punchdrunk enrichment preliminary report. November 2014.
Machon, J. and Thompson, C. 2014. Punchdrunk enrichment preliminary report. November 2014. Middlesex University.
Immersed in illusion, haunted by history: Marisa Carnesky’s ghost train
Machon, J. 2013. Immersed in illusion, haunted by history: Marisa Carnesky’s ghost train. in: Jenzen, O. and Munt, S. (ed.) The Ashgate research companion to paranormal cultures Ashgate. pp. 241-254
Immersive performance, (syn)aesthetics and the phenomenology of technologies
Machon, J. 2013. Immersive performance, (syn)aesthetics and the phenomenology of technologies. in: Shaughnessy, N. (ed.) Affective performance and cognitive science: body, brain and being Bloomsbury.
Immersive theatres: intimacy and immediacy in contemporary performance
Machon, J. 2013. Immersive theatres: intimacy and immediacy in contemporary performance. Basingstoke Palgrave Macmillan.