Ian McKellen, Golda Rosheuvel, Arinzé Kene and Rosie Sheehy star in An Ark, a Simon Stephens play watched through mixed reality glasses, which receives its European premiere at Aviva Studios in Manchester from 27 March to 10 April 2027.
Tin Drum and Factory International are presenting the European premiere of An Ark, which its makers describe as the first play created for mixed reality. It is written by Simon Stephens, directed by Sarah Frankcom and produced by Todd Eckert, who founded Tin Drum in 2016, and it runs at Aviva Studios from 27 March to 10 April 2027.
The performance was recorded in a single take. Each member of the audience then watches it through mixed reality glasses rather than on a screen, so the four actors appear a short distance away and can hold a viewer's gaze. The play follows the course of a life, taking in love, sex, work, grief and death.
The company is Ian McKellen, whose credits include King Lear and the Lord of the Rings films; Golda Rosheuvel (Bridgerton, Not Your Superwoman); Arinzé Kene (Misty, Get Up, Stand Up!); and Rosie Sheehy (Machinal, Guess How Much I Love You).
For Eckert the production is a return to Manchester, where Kagami, his mixed reality concert with Ryuichi Sakamoto, sold out its run at the 2023 Manchester International Festival. Stephens, a Tony Award winner whose work includes The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Vanya, is joined by Frankcom, whose productions include The Nico Project and Robin/Red/Breast.
Ian McKellen said: “A new Simon Stephens play is always an excitement but when it is written to be performed in this unique way, it feels more like an explosion! The four of us in front of 50 cameras simultaneously, relishing the chance to explore a new way of acting. New York has already been impressed with the result - now it’s Manchester's turn.”
Simon Stephens said: “What lives with me most, though, is not the energy of the new but the resonance of the human. We look deep into those actors’ eyes and they see us and they touch us with the story they tell. It is a startling new technology that is engaged in kindling something ancient and deep within us.”
Sarah Frankcom said: “As a theatre maker I loved the idea of being able to put an audience into the centre of a play and make them another character that actors could directly interact with. This feels like the beginning of a new form.”
The run sits alongside Factory International's 2027 season at Aviva Studios, which was announced on the same day. General sale for An Ark opens on 20 October 2026, with preview tickets at £30 and standard tickets from £35; performance times are published by Factory International.
