Running May 9-15, Hybrid by Design will feature seven works by artists from The Theatre Centre’s Residency program and a selection of international work curated by Battersea Arts Centre bridging live performance and digital creation in experimental and genre-defying ways. Experience the festival in-person or online — the future of live art is hybrid by design.

This is a festival that celebrates process and experimentation, and we invite you to do the same. Each block of time, whether afternoon or evening, has been curated with a series of offerings for you to experience. Some blocks are open to audiences coming and going, while others we recommend you attend in full. We’ll always do our best to let you in at the earliest appropriate moment based on when you arrive.

The A-side

 • asses.masses: a live video game performance about revolution, technophobia, and the line between work and play.

 • Broken/Sometimes Repaired: This micro-concert, inspired by Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life, is a sparkling tribute to queer resilience, love, and a celebration of the tremendous ripple effect that great works of art can have on the little lives of those who encounter them.

 • Grin (UK): A masquerade of dance sculptures where body and costume are accompanied by a pulsating sound score subverting hyper-sexualised notions of African and Caribbean dance curated in partnership with Battersea Arts Centre.

 • Imaginary Campfires: Step into these two short experimental storytelling experiences, playing with illustration and fantasy.

 • On Minors, Movement, and the Gathering of Data: An immersive animated video installation examining surveillance in public urban spaces followed by a conversation with Yusra Khogali and Siobhan O’Flynn about privacy and consent.

 • salt:dispersed (UK): A filmed performance of Selina Thompson’s award-winning work salt. unpacking stories of ancestry and colonialism curated in partnership with Battersea Arts Centre.

 • Terror From Inside the 3rd Dimension!: Wander virtual worlds! Meet live digital characters! Move across web platforms, interacting live with a variety of characters in a hybrid augmented/virtual reality choose-your-own-adventure escape room set in a video game aesthetic.

 • The wide and curvy cartography of the goddess country: Storytelling written and performed by Ren Nile with visuals by Jabari Elliot created live in front of an audience.

 • 100% Analog: a Long Table Around 12 Letters from Your Lover, Lost at Sea: Join a discussion about the theatre-by-mail project 12 Letters from Your Lover, Lost at Sea, doing theatre during Covid, and challenging definitions of what constitutes a play.

The B-side

 • The B-side Series offers artist-hosted workshops, conversations and activations curated by Sue Balint. Engage directly with artists and explore themes relating to their work, practice, and the future of live arts.

ASL will be available for all performances. The Theatre Centre is a physically accessible venue with barrier-free washrooms on each floor and a lift for public use.

Visit theatrecentre.org.