Granny Jackson’s Dead, an immersive performance that intertwines traditional Irish
wake customs with advanced technology, has been honoured as one of The Stage’s
Top 50 shows of 2024. The Stage praised it as ‘the weirdest, wackiest and most
innovative performance piece of the year.’
Performed in a Georgian townhouse in central Belfast, the production invites
audiences into an Irish wake, blending augmented reality, virtual reality, AI, and
immersive technology with traditional elements like tea, singing, and storytelling.
This unique experience is the result of a collaboration between Big Telly Theatre
Company; Manchester Metropolitan University’s Michael Pinchbeck, Josh Edelman,
Kirsty Fairclough and Alasdair Swenson; and Eleanor O’Keeffe from the Ada
Lovelace Institute, and formerly National Centre for Social Research (NatCen),
funded by the Centre for Cultural Value’s Collaborate fund.
The show’s creators sought to explore how immersive theatre can facilitate arts-led
dialogue and shed light on the ethical and social implications of digital
transformation.
The research partnership used immersive theatre as a tool to explore how arts-led
dialogue can uncover the psychological and social effects of digitising memory and
memorialisation. By merging tradition with cutting-edge technology, the production
challenges audiences to engage with grief, memory, and commemoration in
innovative ways.
Michael Pinchbeck, Professor of Theatre at Manchester School of Theatre, said:
“This was a fantastic opportunity for the Performance Research Group to work with
colleagues in the School of Digital Arts to explore the application of new technology
in a live immersive performance. Our ongoing research into commemoration and
grief was brought to life by Big Telly using VR and motion capture. We want to do
more of this kind of industry-facing, interdisciplinary collaboration and it is great to
see the show get this national recognition and tour internationally’.
Granny Jackson’s Dead premiered as part of the NI Science Festival, running from
15-25 February 2024, at 47 Malone Road, Belfast, before embarking on a national
tour to Liverpool and Leamington Spa. Next year there are plans to tour
internationally to Philadelphia, New York, San Diego, Connecticut, Dublin, Cavan
and Austin.
The production’s innovative fusion of tradition and technology has garnered critical
acclaim, solidifying its place among the most remarkable performances of the year.