Replica

Ben Neal & Kerryn Wise

Replica is an emotive Mixed Reality performance which uses immersive technology to display a virtual dancer who interacts with, and occupies the same space as a live performer - allowing her to duet with a digital double. This unique and innovative production combines live dance, XR and Volumetric Capture.

The virtual dancer is viewed through a Meta Quest 3 VR headset which the participant wears during the experience. In this 10-minute performance audiences discover how it feels when real and virtual performers interact in real-time, and are prompted to consider key human issues around digital doubles, presence, and ownership of their body/image - exploring how we present ourselves and connect with each other in a world of growing digitisation. The imperfect, fragmented, and glitchy hologram maintains something of her original presence, but also conveys a sense of loss, entrapment or erosion.

How do two versions of the same person compare when they co-exist? Do they co-exist? Is this an authentic experience? Will technology allow us to transcend our bodies across space & time, or will we become disembodied? Audience Quotes: “I wish I could have experienced it many times - I found it utterly compelling.“ “Connection was very powerful and overwhelming.“ “neither live nor digital, but a wonderful commingling of bodies, textures and qualities.” “made me question who was real at a perceptual level”

Project Collaborators:

Studio Displace is : Creative Technologist Ben Neal and Choreographer Kerryn Wise with Dancer Kim Bormann and music by Daniel Frazer. Funded by : The Space and Arts Council England. Supported by : Near Now, Broadway Cinema, Virtual and Immersive Production Studio, University of Nottingham