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-matters

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