Feel Me

Performed from Thu 22 — Fri 23 Jun

Who do you care about and why?

'Feel Me' is a new interactive show from The Paper Birds, UK leaders in devised verbatim theatre. 'Feel Me' asks, via your mobile phone, who and what you care about from the stories unfolding live on stage in front of you.

A stunning mixture of live performance, film, projection, dance and music, 'Feel Me' will explore the different lenses through which we are told, and connect to stories in the modern digital world.

Worlds unfold from backpacks, and tents are constructed and dismantled again, each scene and location temporary, like a transient teenager in search of safety, acceptance and a new place to call home. An interrogation of empathy, 'Feel Me' asks what makes us ‘feel’ for another person, as we journey through landscapes and across borders, through weather storms and paperwork, changing seasons, endless queues and interviews.


Please note: All performances have integrated captions.


'Feel Me' is made by The Paper Birds in Partnership with Theatre Centre. A Co-Production with New Wolsey Theatre. Supported by Padepokan Seni Bagong Kussudiardja (Indonesia) and The Point, Eastleigh. Funded by British Council International Collaboration & Arts Council England.


Suitable for ages 13 years+
Mild strobing in visual content, loud noises and atmospheric haze.

Seeking real world impact and action, audiences are active participants within the show, gently and anonymously asked to share how they feel about the story they are witnessing at different moments and to consider who they connect with, who they feel empathy for and why. This is measured using innovative software accessed by the audience during the show in a series of collaborative ‘check-in’ moments, with results creatively shared live as part of the performance. Supported by academics from Essex University, the show will bring together a study of the impact of the show on our audiences and their empathy levels.

Following each performance of 'Feel Me' there will be an informal post-show discussion with the cast and director of the show. As the very first previews of a brand-new piece, The Paper Birds want to provide space for audiences to share their thoughts and experiences of how the show feels.

This is a crucial stage of the devising process for the company as a company that makes work with and for communities. It is important to them to make a show that feels relevant and accessible for audiences. For school groups, this also gives students the valuable opportunity to pose questions directly to the artists and director about the show and their process.