Punchdrunk's Felix Barrett: AI could provide a bedrock of support for shows

Although Lander 23 does not make use of AI, Barrett said he was always trying to "think about the space that isn’t tapped" when it comes to embracing new ways of making theatre.

"I think there’s a lot of potential, not with AI replacing [artists] but AI enhancing [art]. I think that is exciting. You’d never want to use AI to do someone out of a job, but when you’re doing something that’s really free-form and open-ended, you need lots of possibilities and options," he said.

Barrett added: "There are things that we would have loved to have done five years ago, but it would have cost millions and millions to put in place all the various permutations. With AI, I think there’s a way you could do a bedrock of support, to enhance a show.

"There are routes of positivity, as long as your eyes are open and you’re really careful."

Barrett told The Stage that Lander 23 represented a "bucket-list project" for Punchdrunk in the company’s quarter of a century in existence.

The experience is to premiere at the company’s home in Woolwich, southeast London, this September.

Featuring only pre-recorded performers and no live cast, the production invites teams of four people to take part in a "multiplayer stealth game", based around the fictional setting of the Lander Division of the Centre for Astrobiology.