“Conducting Shakespeare was a unique theatrical experiment, created especially for the V&A’s inaugural Performance Festival in April-May 2014. Bringing together the excitement of Shakespeare in performance with cutting edge bio-sensor technology, this was a thrilling and fascinating performance that delighted V&A visitors. A few lucky audience members were directly involved in the experiment, being hooked up to bio-sensors measuring brain waves, heart rate, muscle tension and perspiration; their emotional responses to the scenes played out in front of them were observed by the ‘Conductor’ of the performance, Dr Alexis Kirke, who was then able to manipulate the performance in response to the emotional state of the audience. The result was a brand new way of looking at Shakespeare and live performance, and also an imaginative and exciting way of utilising bio-sensor technology in an engaging and unexpected setting. “
Sophie Reynolds, Festival Officer, Victoria and Albert Museum, London