Exploring Immersive Storytelling: A Metro-Narrative Theatre Experience Through Interactive Scenography and Audience Agency

Project Abstract

This study investigates how immersive storytelling can transform theatre into a metro-narrative experience by intertwining interactive scenography with active audience agency to produce a dynamic, non-linear dramaturgy set within urban-inspired architectures. Grounded in practices of immersive theatre, participatory performance, and scenographic design, the research examines how spatial layout, environmental cues, and portable technologies collaborate to blur the boundaries between performer, space, and spectator. Employing a multi-method approach, the project combines design experiments, a series of prototypes, and evaluative performance tests with diverse audiences to assess how different modes of agency—navigation, choice, and relational participation—affect narrative perception, emotional engagement, and memory formation. The study articulates a framework for metro-narratives that uses layered storytelling modalities, including physical pathways, sounds, projections, and tactile artefacts, to create co-authored trajectories where meaning emerges from the interaction of audience decisions with a living dramaturgy. Through iterative design cycles, the project develops a modular scenography system capable of reconfiguring in real time to reflect audience choices, thereby generating emergent plotlines that expand the traditional linear script into a spectrum of possible futures. The research investigates how intermedial devices such as mobile interfaces, augmented soundscapes, and responsive lighting can provide calibrated levels of guidance and autonomy, ensuring inclusivity while preserving the thrill of discovery. Central to the inquiry is an examination of audience agency how participants interpret cues, negotiate social dynamics within shared spaces, and influence the pacing and outcome of the performance. The study also interrogates ethical dimensions of participatory theatre, including consent, safety, and the management of power asymmetries between performers and participants. It assesses the implications of metro-narratives for theatre pedagogy and curation, proposing guidelines for writer-directors, designers, and producers to realize scalable, publishable models of immersive work. Data collection combines observational analytics, post-performance interviews, and digital impressions gathered via consented devices to map correlations between degree of agency, spatial immersion, and affective response. Preliminary findings indicate that audience-led branching structures can sustain engagement across extended durations, fostering a heightened sense of time-pressure and spatial affiliation that parallels urban movement. The interactive scenography demonstrates robust adaptability to different audience configurations, while maintaining coherence of theme and emotional throughline. The research contributes a theoretical and practical blueprint for synthesizing architectural space, technological mediation, and performative action into a cohesive metro-narrative ecosystem. It culminates in methodological recommendations, design patterns, and evaluative metrics intended to guide future investigations and productions seeking to push the boundaries of immersive theatre through participatory architecture and distributed authorship.

Project Overview

What This Project Is About

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A plain-language overview of immersive theatre that uses a metro-like narrative structure, where the audience can influence the flow of scenes through interactive stage elements and real-time choices. The project examines how scenography (the design of stage environments) and audience participation shape storytelling in a city-wide, interconnected performance. It aims to test how multiple story threads can unfold in a single event and how movement through physical space affects understanding and engagement with the plot. The focus is on accessibility, engagement, and creative collaboration between designers, directors, and performers.

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The Problem It Addresses

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Traditional theatre often follows a fixed sequence of events with limited audience input. This project explores gaps in how stories can be more responsive to diverse audience choices and how physical environments can carry narrative meaning. It asks whether a metro-narrative approach can deepen immersion, broaden accessibility, and invite more active participation without sacrificing coherence or emotional impact.

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Objectives of the Project

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1. Test a metro-narrative structure where audience choices influence scene order.
2. Develop interactive scenography elements that respond to audience presence and decisions.
3. Evaluate how movement through space changes comprehension and engagement.
4. Document methods for integrating design, direction, and technology in immersive work.
5. Provide a practical framework for future student productions in theatre arts.

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What You Will Do Step by Step

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1. Research existing immersive theatre models and metro-narrative concepts.
2. Develop a short narrative with branching paths and spatial cues.
3. Create basic interactive scenography prototypes (props, lighting, audio triggers).
4. Plan audience flow and safety considerations for a live event.
5. Run a small-scale workshop or test performance to gather feedback.
6. Analyze responses to determine how choices affected understanding and enjoyment.
7. Refine the design based on data and field notes.
8. Prepare a final documentation package with learnings and guidelines.

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Expected Outcome

A working concept and production plan for an immersive metro-narrative performance, a set of practical scenography and interaction strategies, and evaluative data showing how audience agency changes storytelling. The project should offer transferable ideas for future theatre productions and education in performance design.