Beyond the Proscenium: How Hybrid Reality, Augmented Spaces, and Digital Interfaces are Redefining Experimental Theatre in the 21st Century

Abstract

This study examines the transformative impact of hybrid reality, augmented spaces, and digital interfaces on experimental theatre practices in the 21st century. Utilizing secondary data drawn from scholarly articles, industry reports, and documented case studies, the research explores how digital technologies transcend the traditional proscenium, fostering new modes of audience engagement, performance creation, and spatial experience. The findings reveal that the integration of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and interactive digital platforms enables experimental theatre-makers to blur boundaries between physical and virtual worlds, expand narrative possibilities, and cultivate participatory dramaturgies. Moreover, the study highlights the challenges and opportunities emergent in this paradigm shift, including questions of accessibility, technological literacy, and artistic agency. Ultimately, this research elucidates the evolving landscape of experimental theatre, underscoring the ways in which digital and hybrid environments are not only supplementing but fundamentally reimagining the possibilities of the theatrical art form.