I’m in the process of working out the capitalisation cost of my long awaited stage production I dreamed of staging for over 20 years. As technology evolved new tech has emerged and distilled in to what is becoming known as ‘immersive’ the dream of a stage and live film extended space production is now possible. Motion capture is being replaced my canny valley avatars even volumetric video and photometry environment. The VR sound stages replacing green screen in film have intoxicating possibilities for live theatre.

Where will I take this immersive, extended space live theatre experience environment? To studio spaces around the country. To the black box shoe box diminutive little sibling of the hat box proscenium big street profiled kin.

Concrete box often painted black lined with black surge drapes. Close the doors and lights out to descend into velvety blackout.

Where the audience sit in raised steel decked levels to stagger the sight lines for the performances played out on the flat found level. Black vinyl dance floor immaculately joined with clear tape or black gaffa.

The sensory deprivation tank where the play is the thing. No distractions.

Posted to Facebook please share your responses in the comments.

I’m making a directory of Black Box Theatre spaces in the UK. If there is a resource you know of please link. If you know a space do share. For hire or venue programmed. Thanks.

3hrs after posting as as I write this there has been 18 responses from the Theatre Producers UK Facebook Group and 1 response from Twitter with a raft of likes and retweets.

So…

If you have done drama at school or had a drama department at school I suspect you will have seen a black box theatre

Wikipedia says this

"A black box theatre is a simple performance space, typically a square room with black walls and a flat floor. The simplicity of the space allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interaction.The black box is a relatively recent innovation in theatre."

This is the venue max size I’m looking for. This is Hull Truck’s studio.

I’m on a hunt. I’ll be looking to identify 9 venues on my 100 mile radius tour.

Mull - Dervaig

100 radius tour (by the crow flies)

Stirling

Carlisle

York

Nottingham

Bury St Edmunds

Aberystwyth

Bristol

Plymouth

In particular I’m eager to locate venues in proximity to these places.

Falmouth

Nuneaton

Lutterworth

Rudgwick

Billinghurst

Bala

Llauwchilyn

Kirkwall - Orkney

Sandwick - Shetland

Stornoway - Lewis