Ian McKellen to Star in Mixed Reality Play in UK, But Not in Person

Audiences in Manchester will be asked to wear smart glasses for An Ark, which was shown in New York this year. But the veteran actor will not be appearing on stage in person. The Lord of the Rings star is taking part in An Ark, a 'mixed reality' play that premiered in New York earlier this year. Theatregoers are asked to use smart glasses that project the actors into the room. Continue reading

Ian McKellen is to star in a ground-breaking new play which opens in the UK in Manchester next spring. But this veteran actor does not step on the stage.

The Lord of the Rings star stars in An Ark, a "mixed reality" play that premiered in New York earlier this year. Theatergoers are asked to wear smart glasses that project actors into the room.

"Mixed reality is when you see both the virtual elements of an experience and the real world around you," said John McGrath, chief executive of Factory International, which is running the show.

The glasses are different from virtual reality, he said, because instead of using "a set of glasses that remove the physical reality you're in," they "project into space, but also show the real world you're in."

Asked if McClellan would have a physical presence in the play, which runs from March 27 to April 10 at the Aviva Studios, he said: "His virtual presence will be there. He might come and visit the play, but you won't see the real Ian McClellan perform."

He said that the audience would be happy to attend a show where the actors are not in it. "When people go to see a movie, you don't take the time to explain that the main actors aren't in the movie theater," he said. This is no different."

The 47-minute production is billed as an exploration of life and death, during which "actors share stories about life so it feels like they're right in front of you. An intimate reimagining of live theater using that technology, actors share stories about how humans grow, connect and grieve for life."

While some might think going to the theater is exciting because you see the actors performing live in front of you, McGrath said mixed reality plays have other benefits. What you get is an intimacy with the actors, so you feel like they're sitting in front of you and talking directly to you. He said it made for a "very moving personal experience".

The four actors, including McClellan, were filmed by 52 cameras in one take in a studio in Grenoble, France. They appear right in front of the seated viewer as if they are having a private show.

"It's a lot closer to being in a movie than being on stage," McGrath told the cast. It's for actors who enjoy a new challenge."

The theater plans to hold public events to explore the future and ethics of this technology.

The factory program for 2027 celebrates the organization's twenty years of establishment. Among the programs is a special production of Philip Glass's opera Einstein on the Beach.

"It's going to be one of the biggest opera performances of any time of the year – it's Philip Glass's 90th birthday, and it's the first time in 50 years that there's been an entirely new production of it," McGrath said. "It's going to be a way to experience that wonderful score in a big, big warehouse, in a way that's very different from the opera you usually see."

He added: "Most of the work that is done in this program, we are either the first world show or the first show in the UK and we have produced it."