Real Unreal “Virtual” Situations (And What We Can Learn From Them)

“Blast Theory” is an amalgam of theatre performers and scientists creating interactive “performances” that mix reality with virtual situations. “The laboratory provides the technical and theoretical underpinning for their fascination with computer and communications technology, and its ability to create ‘virtual’ situations that blur distinctions between the real and the imaginary. Verbal and visual ambiguity is very much the stuff of artistic endeavour. But with the development of three- dimensional imaging and ‘intelligent’ and ubiquitous computing devices, a number of scientific laboratories worldwide are attempting to understand how humans will interact with all this smart machinery.”