Simon Kane: Disneyland, Punchdrunk, Shunt; What “Immersive” Really Means

Is walking around a fake bathroom really “immersive” theatre, or is a theme park the more honest art form?Ben sits down with Simon Kane, writer and performer whose work spans Shunt’s devised theatre, BBC radio comedy (John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme), and a lockdown project performing Shakespeare chronologically on YouTube. Simon unpacks what “immersive” should actually mean, why a seated audience isn’t a passive audience, and why “fun” is a serious artistic standard.“If you’re making a space from scratch, why make a space that already exists?”We also riff on Richard II as a story of celebrity collapse, the strange distance of voice work compared to stage acting, and how to stay creatively intentional when algorithms would rather you just hit Next.Transcript: https://www.thendobetter.com/arts/2026/2/14/simon-kane-performing-shakespeare-on-youtube-immersive-theatre-and-why-fun-mattersWe cover:Story-first acting: unlocking Richard II by changing the characterDevised vs scripted: how Shunt builds worlds, and what audio comedy demands insteadThe “immersive” fallacy: when you’re just walking around a setClowning, refusal, and the myth you must always say yesEscaping autoplay: consuming culture on purpose