Groundbreaking show aims to heal division
The new work by Southpaw Company brings together virtual reality and live performance to explore different perspectives following the unrest which took place in Sunderland in 2024
A new immersive theatre experience combining virtual reality and live performance is set to explore the impact of last year’s unrest in Sunderland - and ask how a divided city can begin to heal.
The production, 3.1, has been created by Southpaw Company as part of Sunderland: Our Home, a wider initiative led by The Cultural Spring following the disorder that unfolded in August 2024.
Rather than offering a single narrative of events, the show will place audiences inside four different perspectives, each shaped by conversations with people across the city. Using virtual reality headsets alongside live performers, digital environments will be blended with theatre to create an experience that is as much about reflection as it is about storytelling.
For artistic director Robby Graham, the aim is not to provide answers, but to encourage audiences to question their own assumptions.
“We’re not interested in pointing fingers,” he says. “The piece asks how people arrive at their beliefs, how quickly we judge one another, and what happens when frustration turns into action. It also asks whether repair - personal and collective - is possible.”
The show’s title reflects that idea. It comes from a participant who told the creative team it took just 3.1 seconds to form a judgement about someone - a moment that became central to the work’s exploration of perception, identity and division.
Developed through workshops and discussions with a wide cross-section of Sunderland residents, including young offenders, older people and members of global majority communities, the performance draws on lived experience rather than scripted certainty.
“At its heart, this is a show about perception and responsibility,” Robby added. “It looks at the pressures people are under - economic, social and political - and how those pressures can push communities apart. But it also looks at the quieter acts of solidarity that bring people back together.”
3.1 sits alongside a second commissioned project from Unfolding Theatre, which is inviting people to write letters to Sunderland as part of a performance titled Dear Sunderland.
Together, the projects form part of a broader effort to create space for dialogue and understanding in the wake of last summer’s events.
Emma Biggins, community engagement co-ordinator at The Cultural Spring, said the programme is focused on reconnecting communities. “What happened in Sunderland in the summer of 2024 left people feeling unsettled while some neighbourhoods felt divided,” she said. “Sunderland: Our Home is about building understanding, healing fractures and celebrating the strength and diversity of our communities.”
3.1 will be staged at Southpaw’s Sheepfolds studio on April 2 and 3, with performance times at 12pm, 3pm and 5pm. A series of VR only performances which don’t involve live performers will take place on April 7-10 at 11am, 2pm and 5pm.
Audience members will be given their own VR headsets and performances last about an hour. Tickets are £5 with concessions available. Visit the Southpaw website to book.