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Museum of Austerity

Co-produced by English Touring Theatre, the National Theatre Immersive Storytelling Studio and Trial & Error Studio

In a bare room, with an old-fashioned radiator, a man wearing a virtual reality headset looks towards a woman wearing a grey singlet.

Booking and details

8 — 11 November 2023
This show has now ended
The event location is

HOME Theatre Manchester

2 Tony Wilson Place
Manchester
M15 4FN

Witness the human stories of Austerity Britain in this arresting mixed reality installation.

A decade-long campaign of government budget-cutting began in the UK in 2010, following the global financial crisis of 2008. In 2016, the UN found that “grave or systemic violations” of the rights of disabled people were taking place throughout the UK.

Wearing a mixed reality headset, you will enter a striking, holographic gallery that lays bare the consequences when state safety nets fail.

Museum of Austerity is more than an exhibition; it’s a blend of theatre, history and humanity. A place to reflect on the past and reimagine the future.

Museum of Austerity was nominated for Best Digital Innovation at the UK Theatre Awards, previewed at the London Film Festival in 2021 and won International Documentary Festival Amsterdam’s (IDFA) Best Immersive Production in 2021.

Co-produced by English Touring Theatre, the National Theatre Immersive Storytelling Studio and Trial & Error Studio, this powerful installation combines the skills of theatre/XR director Sacha Wares, with the in-depth knowledge of John Pring, editor of Disability News Service.

Suitability

Age Recommendation: 18+

Museum of Austerity contains material that some people may find distressing or find challenging to engage with.

This includes:

  • Holographic depictions of: death and mental distress
  • Audio references to: mental distress and death, including suicide, linked to the benefit system
  • Audio references to: domestic violence, alcoholism, self harm, eating disorders, dementia