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The Royal Shakespeare Company, Watershed and eight fantastic creative practitioners came together in Stratford-Upon-Avon for a ground-breaking R&D lab.

From magic and illusion, to stormy weather and familial forgiveness, the Lab was rooted in the RSC’s 2016 production of The Tempest, which was created in collaboration with Intel and in association with The Imaginarium Studios. Together the artists explored new ideas that blend technology and art expanding the themes of the play beyond the stage around Shakespeare’s great play.

Designed to sit alongside the RSC’s ground-breaking production of The Tempest, the lab was facilitated by magician Stuart Nolan with practitioners drawn from a range of disciplines:

Jane Gauntlett is a writer for film and theatre, she is excited by a good story, mind trickery and turning audiences into participants.

Tom Pursey is the Co-founder and Creative Director of Flying Object, a London-based creative agency focused on experiences, content and interactive digital.

Kathy Hinde explores the relationship between nature and technology through audio-visual installations and performances that combine sound, sculpture, image and light.

Tony Churnside is a creative technologist and digital innovator. He creates new audience experiences by leveraging technology in novel ways.

Jono Sandilands is a graphic artist exploring design, printmaking and screen-based-technology, embedding interaction and games into physical artworks.

Ross Sutherland is a writer/performer based in the UK. He does lots of different things that don't all fit together neatly, but includes immersive theatre works, poetry, games and film. 

Aisha Sanyang-Meek is a 20 year old performer, filmmaker and writer. She is currently working with Rise Youth Dance Company in Bristol, is part of Watershed’s Rife alumni and was recently commissioned by Channel 4 Random Acts to write and direct her first short film 'Hairitage’.

The Lab ran from Wed 14 to Fri 16 Dec, it began with all the participants watching The Tempest, together.


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