Future theater finds a stage

Across three forums, nine workshops, and nine theater productions, artists and technologists explored how AI, algorithms, and emerging technologies might intersect with theatrical expression — and where these experiments could take the art form next.

"For artists, to have a space where we can gather and 'play' together is already a great joy," says Nie Jingzhu, rising director and founder and curator of this year's Showcase.

That sense of free spirit and collaboration, she notes, might be the ideal form of art itself.

Nie likens theater to "quantum entanglement", connecting creators across time and space.

"Usually, theater makers work in isolation — raising funds, selling tickets, building teams. But here, some pathways are finally opening," she says.