On Friday, May 10, the first immersive space dedicated to the works of William Shakespeare, Shakespeare Dimensions, will be inaugurated at the Promenada Mall Bucharest, a place where theater performance and artificial intelligence (AI) come together, creating a unique virtual reality experience.
Between 10-12 May, between 10:00-22:00, visitors can experience visual, auditory and olfactory sensations inspired by the play “The Tempest” by William Shakespeare, thus having the opportunity to explore a realm where the lines between magic , nature and technology blur, offering a unique perspective on the masterpiece of the famous English author. Access is free, in series of a maximum of 5 spectators.
The immersive installation is an integral part of the International Shakespeare Festival, which takes place between May 16-26 in Craiova and will be available in the Craiova Promenade throughout the duration of the festival. Access is free and the experience lasts three minutes.
Shakespeare Dimensions, supported by NEPI Rockcastle and hosted by Promenada Mall in Bucharest and Craiova, is a 3D scenographic experiment in virtual space. Thus, the theatrical universe is entirely generated by AI technologies, with the support of which the physical limits of what could be perceived and understood on a conventional theater stage are overcome. The creators of this project describe it as a singular experience of each viewer with technology, a bridge to the past through the prism of the future, demonstrating the timelessness of Shakespeare's story.
In the immersive cube, the audience will have the opportunity to physically live the experience that the characters Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Ferdinand and Gonzalo go through at the beginning of the play. Thus, the visitor becomes an active observer, an actor in a live version of the first scene of the play.
“The Shakespeare Dimensions story started from the first scene of the play The Tempest. In the original play, the character Prospero is presented as an experienced sorcerer who is aided by a genie named Ariel. In our vision, Prospero is an IT engineer from the not-too-distant future, and Ariel is a technological assistant like Siri, Alexa or Google. The storm presented by Shakespeare in the first scene of the play is no longer an illusion created by Prospero with the help of witchcraft, but an immersion in a virtual reality, created with the help of cutting-edge technology“, explained Vlad Drăgulescu, the director of the International Shakespeare Festival and the creator of the concept.
“The Shakespeare Dimensions immersive cube is a virtual reality installation, and an interdisciplinary team of digital artists, programmers, scenographers, architects and engineers from Augmented Space Agency and Kaustik designed a special video rear projection infrastructure consisting of 10 state-of-the-art video projectors and a surround sound system. The 5×5 meter cube transposes the audience into an immersive virtual space composed of 5 projection surfaces designed to give the piece Furtuna new aesthetic forms facilitated by virtual reality and artificial intelligence“, added Ciprian Făcăeru, the set designer of the immersive installation.
“The support of this project is not accidental because NEPI Rockcastle is actively involved in supporting cultural projects. Through this immersive installation we managed to transpose the classic theatrical work, typical of a theater, in a versatile space like that of a shopping center, frequented by all generations. By placing it in our malls in Bucharest, Craiova and Gdansk (Poland) we manage to draw attention to the Shakespearean cultural universe and translate it into a current language”, said Roxana Baias, Group Head of Marketing NEPI Rockcastle.
“Shakespeare Dimensions” can be experienced for free during:
– May 10-12, in the time interval 10:00-22:00, at Promenada Bucharest (entrance Bdul. Barbu Vacarescu)
– May 17-26, between 10:00 and 22:00, at Promenada Craiova
– July 26 – August 4, between 10:00 and 22:00, at Forum Gdansk, Poland
Shakespeare Dimensions is a virtual reality experience that, through the use of cutting-edge video production and projection technologies, combines theatrical performance and artificial intelligence in a creative exercise that transcends the physical limits of what could be perceived and understood on a conventional theater stage. A unique, singular experience of each viewer with technology, a bridge to the past, through the lens of the future, demonstrating the timelessness of Shakespeare's story.
