ECHO IMMERSION (EI) is an adaptation of ECHO, the original live theatrical version. EI is an experience at the cutting edge of immersive theater and Extended Reality technology (XR). Using an intersection of live performance, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality platforms it places the audience within a visceral experience of the untold stories of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. A collection of modular non-linear vignettes weave together the narrative of the kidnapping and enslavement of tens of millions of African bodies and of hundreds of years of forced migration from the 15th to the 19th centuries.

The performance moves seamlessly through the past and the present, connecting threads that tell the story of how enslaved Africans from many nations came together to survive as the diaspora. EI continues to unpack the impact of embodied traumas that reverberate inside memories and across generations; exploring themes of race, masked identity, objectification of black and brown bodies, and systematic erasure of black narratives.

This tapestry of experiences gives context to modern experiences of race and how the violence of history has echoed through time. It is a story of survival, told eloquently and with reverence by those whose ancestors survived the journey. Through emerging interactive technologies, interfaced with contemporary dance theatre, hand in hand with the ancient arts of design and theatrical storytelling, the audience will live the story instead of simply seeing it. Audiences will experience a fusion of past, present and future never seen on a site-specific theatrical performance before.