CORPUS QUOD
Immersive theatrical experience about the UK asylum seeking process
We worked with academics and cultural partners to develop an immersive experience that aimed to increase empathy and impact public opinion of refugees and asylum seekers.
The experience placed its audience in the centre of Ziad's story as he underwent the asylum seeking process; using the research conducted and a hybrid of verbatim and fictionalised narrative, the audience interacted with a system designed to discourage, penalise and misrepresent refugees seeking asylum.
We created a series of interactive kiosks that audience members encountered at the start of the experience. These kiosks asked a series of multiple choice questions via a thermal printer and 5-button interface. The answers to these questions were used to personalise the audience members’ experience and to highlight the bureaucratic nature of the asylum seeking process.
The performance, titled Burden of Proof, premiered at Theatre Deli and the University of Birmingham in November and December 2018. It was funded by the AHRC and EPSRC.
Academic Collaborators
Dr Joanna Bucknall (University of Birmingham)
Dr Charles Leddy-Owen (University of Portsmouth)
Dr Fred Charles (Bournemouth University)
Industry Collaborators
The Lab Collective
Thomas Buchanan
ArtReach
Performers
Aso Sherabayani
Holli Dillon
Joel Samuels
