The Foundling
Bringing immersive theatre into your home
You came. I knew you would.
We have a long way to go, you and me...
Let’s start with opening that envelope.
Part fable, part moment in history, The Foundling is immersive, table-top theatre delivered directly to your door.
Fusing augmented reality, AI, smell and binaural sound, the gothic tale of Hopegood Shakespeare comes spilling out into your home revealing a secret she has kept for too long.
A portal opens up to a gothic world where you meet wetnurse Hopegood Shakespeare who is just days away from the hangman’s noose having been falsely accused of murder.
Placing you at the centre of the story, you were once one of the foundling children she nursed and now there is little time left, she urgently needs to tell you your history before it is lost forever.
The experience consists of four distinct chapters designed to extend the experience of a story through both the virtual and the live. With each chapter the audience receive a parcel containing an object from Hopegood’s world. They are invited to construct the object and place it in a certain way. One by one as these objects come into focus they trigger the next chapter of virtual storytelling. The final chapter leads the audience to a live immersive theatre piece.
The Foundling expands theatre directly into people’s homes, creating an intimate, solo experience of an epic narrative.
This current R&D stage of The Foundling is funded by Innovate UK Creative Catalyst fund. Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is the UK’s innovation agency. They work to create a better future by inspiring, involving and investing in businesses developing life-changing innovations. With an annual budget of over £1billion they provide businesses with the expertise, facilities and funding they need to test, demonstrate and evolve their ideas, driving UK productivity and economic growth.
The initial research into The Foundling was funded by CreativeXR. CreativeXR exists not only to help UK talent develop new immersive experiences, but importantly to encourage the development of new business models, production methods and distribution techniques to allow these experiences to reach audiences.