Ben Yeoh Chats 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.
We cover:
Story-first acting: unlocking Richard II by changing the character
Devised vs scripted: how Shunt builds worlds, and what audio comedy demands instead
The “immersive” fallacy: when you’re just walking around a set
Clowning, refusal, and the myth you must always say yes
Escaping autoplay: consuming culture on purpose