In focus: Interactivity
Interactivity is often seen as a key feature of immersive and multisensory experiences, and it can take many forms. Audiences may engage through physical movements such as gestures, eye-movement, speech, touch or full-body motion, through social interactions with other participants, live performers or virtual avatars, or via technologies including controllers, sensors, wearables and smartphones. The environment itself can also become interactive, with sound, light, vibration or objects responding dynamically to audience presence. These interactions can occur at different levels, ranging from subtle ambient feedback (such as lighting, sound or vibration that responds to movement) to collective audience-wide participation, and to branching narrative choices that alter the story. Ideally, interactivity shifts audiences from passive spectators to active co-creators. However, inclusion remains essential: not everyone desires or enjoys the same degree of interactivity; experiences should offer multiple pathways that are both accessible and adaptable.
Case study: Brainstorms
An interesting example of the creative engagement with internal bodily signals is the Brainstorms: A Great Gig in the Sky (2024) installation, produced by Pollen Music Group with Richard Wright Music and staged at London's Frameless gallery. The experience visualises brainwave data recorded from 125 volunteers who listened to Pink Floyd while wearing EEG caps, with a separate bookable session in which visitors could have their own brain activity captured. Audiences viewed creative projections of the brain's real-time reactions to the music as shifting aurora-like skies, star murmurations or glowing neural clouds. Audiences reported feelings of emotional connection with their brainwaves and a sense of self-awareness137.