With Sleep No More gone, Shanghai needed a new immersive theatre obsession. I went into TAIXU DreamScape with pretty much zero expectations. An Apple Vision Pro and theatre? It sounded a little gimmicky, if anything.
But the entire production genuinely impressed me.
For an hour, you wander around following six dancers while the world around you starts breaking the laws of physics. Snow falls indoors. Rain appears out of nowhere. Rocks float around. Digital objects materialise and disappear. At one point you're basically standing in a room watching reality glitch out while everyone onstage carries on like this is completely normal.
The story is another matter. There are no English subtitles, you can follow different dancers, and you will almost certainly miss things. But weirdly, that makes it more fun. Stop trying to solve the plot and just follow whoever looks interesting. There is no quiz at the end.
The impressive part is how well the whole thing hangs together. The dancers, set, lighting and mixed reality all feel properly integrated rather than someone just bolting a VR demo onto a theatre show.
Was it a little gimmicky? Sure. Did it work? Annoyingly, yes. TAIXU DreamScape is absolutely worth an hour of your time.
Shows are currently listed through September 19, with more dates to come. Keep checking the event page for new shows.
