Exploring Theatrical Realism and Memory in Post-Pandemic Urban Spaces: A Multisensory Performance Installation

Project Abstract

This study investigates how theatrical realism and memory operate within post-pandemic urban spaces through a multisensory performance installation that interrogates the embodied experiences of city dwellers, marginalized communities, and public memory. Grounded in performance theory, spatial dramaturgy, and memory studies, the project examines how realism can be reimagined beyond naturalistic representation to capture fragmented recollections, tactile sensations, and acoustical landscapes that emerge in metropolitan environments affected by collective trauma and resilience. The installation integrates live actors, immersive soundscapes, projection mapping, scent, and interactive urban textures to create a non-linear narrative that invites audiences to navigate memory as a performative event rather than a linear retelling. Drawing on case studies of post-pandemic public spaces, the research analyzes how pandemics recalibrate social rituals, urban anonymity, and memory-making practices, and how these reconfigured atmospheres influence audience perception, empathy, and civic engagement. Methodologically, the study employs a mixed-methods approach combining practice-as-research with ethnographic observation, performer-audience feedback sessions, and post-performance interviews to map the affective trajectories elicited by the installation. A central aim is to delineate a dramaturgical framework for producing multisensory realism that foregrounds sensation, memory traces, and temporal disjunction, thereby challenging conventional conventions of observational distance in theatre and expanding the audience’s capacity to inhabit multiple temporalities within a single urban night. The research considers space as a co-creator of meaning, analyzing how architectural remnants, street-level acoustics, and material textures participate in shaping memory recall and narrative interpretation. Ethical considerations address the responsibilities of representing trauma, the inclusivity of diverse urban voices, and the potential impacts of performance-induced immersion on participant well-being. The project also explores sustainability and accessibility in multisensory design, proposing scalable modalities for different urban locales and audience abilities. Expected outcomes include a theoretical contribute to the discourse on realism in contemporary theatre by articulating a post-pandemic performance grammar that synthesizes memory scholarship with site-responsive dramaturgy, as well as a practical blueprint for creating immersive installations that activate neglected urban corners as memory archives. The study intends to demonstrate that memory in post-pandemic cities is a composite of tangible sensations, social rituals, and imagined histories, which can be mobilized through a meticulously choreographed interplay of space, actor presence, and sensory modalities. By foregrounding collective memory as a public, performative act, the installation aims to foster dialogic urban experiences, encouraging audiences to negotiate shared histories, confront silences, and envision future civic spaces where theatre becomes a catalyst for communal recollection and resilience.

Project Overview

What This Project Is About

---

A straightforward look at how theatre can recreate memories from cities after the pandemic, using live performance, space, and audience experience. The project examines how realism on stage can reflect real life and how memory shapes what we think happened in public spaces.

---

---

The Problem It Addresses

---

After the pandemic, people’s memories of shared urban spaces can feel fragmented or altered. The project tackles how theatre can help audiences revisit, understand, and process these memories by blending real-life details with imaginative storytelling.

---

---

Objectives of the Project

---

1. Explore how theatrical realism can convey memory in urban settings.
2. Experiment with multisensory elements (sound, light, set) to evoke place and memory.
3. Analyze audience responses to memory-driven performances.
4. Produce a short live or recorded performance as a case study.
5. Reflect on ethical considerations when representing real communities.

---

---

What You Will Do Step by Step

---

1) Review simple writings and films about memory and post-pandemic cities. 2) Design a short performance concept that uses realistic details. 3) Create basic stage elements and sound designs. 4) Run workshops to test audience reactions. 5) Collect feedback through surveys and informal chats. 6) Analyze responses for patterns about memory and realism. 7) Refine the piece based on findings. 8) Present a final performance and a brief report.

---

---

Expected Outcome

A clear, accessible example of how memory and realism can meet in a multisensory theatre piece, with insights on how audiences re-create urban spaces in their minds after the pandemic. The project will offer practical notes for student productions and a short analysis of audience impact.