AR Theater Production Pioneers Immersive Experience at China's Wuzhen Theater Festival with Rokid Glass

The 10th Wuzhen Theater Festival in China bore witness to quite possibly the first ever augmented reality theater production. Audiences were treated to a traditional Chinese Puppet show that blurred the line between stage and audience, adding new technological advances in spatial computing to a traditional form of artistic expression. It’s fair to say that participating audiences were mightily impressed.

While terms like AR (augmented reality), MR (mixed reality) and spatial computing are terms usually associated with futuristic tech products, a small theater amidst the black and white tiles of a small water town proved to the be the perfect backdrop to debut a real-life example of how these new technologies can bring traditional forms of drama to life in a whole new way.

Leading AR glasses brand Rokid partnered with Hapi Puppet to put on a production called ‘Vanishing Sea Creatures’, transporting the audience to a fantastical subterranean underwater world to enjoy a story centered around marine conservation. While real-life actors used puppets to create traditional scenes inside the theater, audience members were invited to don a pair of Rokid AR glasses which, at the touch of a button, summoned a uniquely immersive and magical underwater world that brought the puppets to life in a way that few audiences will have ever experienced before.

‘Vanishing Sea Creatures’ is one of the first theater productions to combine 2D and virtual 3D worlds using AR technology, but it most certainly won’t be the last. The show was a great example of how emerging technologies such as AR are maturing and will eventually become an important tool for modern directors to employ – perhaps even the most exciting on-stage prop ever conceived.

The show at the Wuzhen Theater Festival proved to be a big hit with a predominantly young audience, and a successful test case for using AR devices in more traditional entertainment scenarios. Having explored and pioneered AR use cases in education, healthcare, and other sectors, Rokid have plans to further explore theatrical applications involving their latest AR glasses. Exciting times ahead for thespians and theater goers everywhere.