b'An exploration in how the world of magic and illusionand Vanhoutte, 2019), and this example shows that the theatre industry continues has influenced the modern theatre scene.to evoke bodily sensations from audience members. Instead of having black box performances as they did in the 1960s and 1970s Emma Gibbon where there was a growth in Avant-Garde and Experimental theatre, whichembraced minimalist set design, black cloths and black-clothed stagehands are Digital Theatre Crafts is an inspiring module that highlights the science behindnow most commonly used to hide the mechanisms behind illusions. In the stage the stage and gives students a window through which to see all the work thatversion of Back To The Future (Silvestri, Ballard and Gale, 2020) the time-travelling goes into making theatre. Magic has been used in theatre throughout historycar flies above the audience and completes a 360-degree rotation. This is made and is a tradition that we still hold close to us as it continues to evolve. It is thepossible by a large mechanical arm that holds a lighter weight version of thespectacle and fun that can be found within this niche of theatre that inspiredDeLorean. To make this a spectacle, there are people on stage dressed head to toe Emma Gibbon to write this essay on Magic and Illusion.in black; they hold sheets of black felt to cover the mechanism. With the dimlighting on stage and flashing lights directed at the audience to distract their vision, It is clear to see why magicians keep pushing for new extremes, when modern this simple trick becomes extremely effective. This illusion of a void and visualsociety craves spectacle and escapism to release a wave of adrenaline and absence can be used to explore metaphysical themes. A black stage can bedopamine. I shall uncover how old illusions have been adapted for theatre symbolic of a spiritual realm, the darkness blurs the line between reality andperformances, maintaining the magic culture of secrecy and misdirection illusion and allows the audience to experience what is beyond the tangible world. (Mangan, 2007: xix), as well as where magic may be heading for our future This can allow for characters to undergo transformation that may not only betheatre-goers. physical, as in the 2009 production of The Mountaintop by Katori Hall, wherephysical and metaphysical realities co-exist, but also emotional, as in revivals of John Henry Pepper opened up the Victorian art of seeing things with his creation ofLorraine Hansberrys Raisin In The Sun. The blackouts and darkness create anPeppers Ghost in 1862. The widespread belief in spiritualism meant Victorian illusion of space where characters confront dreams, struggles or realisations. societys fascination with ghosts and connection with the dead created anopportunity for Pepper to have a seminal impact, with his personal interest in theSince technology is only improving and although it may take years to become as supernatural and Shakespeare. His placement of light projection from a accessible as we would like it to, lets look into where the future of magic incustom-designed magic lantern onto glass, extending from pit to ceiling betweentheatres may take us. Weve seen optical illusions like LED video walls transport the audience and the stage, (Groth, 2013 : 113) created the optical illusion of aus into different worlds and Virtual Reality headsets make their way through some ghostly apparition. This not only went on to inspire the Lumire Brothers to chooselive entertainment like rollercoasters in Futuroscope and Derren Browns ghost the Polytechnic for the first English exhibition of their cinematograph but also train in Thorpe Park. Yet, these headsets simply replace the image you see. Apple influenced theatres and amusement parks to indulge in the pleasures of ghosthas been working on a new piece of technology to intertwine augmented reality story-telling (Groth, 2013: 112-115).with ones own reality. The Apple Vision Pro is not only immersive but can bring still images to life. With some updating and pre-programming, I believe it would be We can now see Peppers Ghost on stages today on a much larger scale. The extremely interesting to have an audience with this technology, allowing them to attempt to raise the dead in a frightening ghoulish hallucination is more or less lostmake conscious decisions and interact with live actors with either their physical or and exchanged for futuristic hologram performances, such as those of Michaelvirtual environment changing in accordance. On Glitch Studios website theyJackson, Elvis Presley and ABBA. In ABBA Voyage, visual effects company posted that In a groundbreaking collaboration, three Norwegian theatres Industrial Light & Magic use a pre-recorded video of ABBA in motion-capture suitsNordland Teater, Teater Vestland, and Teatret Vrthave joined forces with Glitch which are projected onto a transparent screen. In accompaniment with a liveStudios to create the first live stage theatre performance in Europe usingband, an LED video wall and a large lighting rig, to create an illusion of depth, theaugmented reality (AR). The resulting childrens play Briar and Rose uses 3Dsensations of the audience are heightened to fully experience the spectacle. Theseanimated objects that are broadcast across over 250 headsets in the audience additional elements support the art of misdirection, making the illusion believablethat appear next to live actors on stage. This was highly successful, winning the and fascinating to an audience. Jonckheere and Vanhoutte describe Victorian 2023 Nordic XR Arts & Culture and 2023 Jury Choice Awards, the Frenchscientific performers concern with Understanding the role played by bodies andLavalVirtual XR Awards in April 2024 and the UK XR Today Awards in May 2024. the apparatus of bodily sensation in the construction of knowledge(JonckheereDue to the spectacle being augmented reality, shows like these can take place in a 36 37'