An Ark is a mixed reality theatrical production conceived and produced by Todd Eckert of Tin Drum, in collaboration with The Shed in New York City. Billed as the first play created entirely for mixed reality, the production ran for a seven-week engagement from 9 January to 1 March 2026 in The Shed's Level 2 Gallery at 545 West 30th Street. Written by Olivier and Tony Award-winning playwright Simon Stephens and directed by Sarah Frankcom, the play featured performances by Ian McKellen, Golda Rosheuvel, Arinzé Kene, and Rosie Sheehy, none of whom were physically present during performances.
The cast was captured using a 4DViews HOLOSYS volumetric video system consisting of 52 cameras (including 48 capture cameras plus a cluster of two standing in for the audience) at 4DViews' studio in Grenoble, France. The entire play was recorded in a single continuous take with the full ensemble, and approximately three months of data processing followed before the production was ready for its opening. Audiences of up to 200 per performance wore Magic Leap 2 AR glasses, which displayed the volumetrically captured actors as three-dimensional presences seated in a semicircle around them. Production design was by Rosanna Vize, with sound design by Ben and Max Ringham.
The play explores themes of mortality and human connection over 47 minutes, with four unnamed characters addressing the audience from a liminal space between life and death. The AR glasses enabled direct eye contact between virtual performers and individual audience members, creating an intimate second-person theatrical experience. The production built on Tin Drum's previous mixed reality works including The Life with Marina Abramović and Kagami with Ryuichi Sakamoto, the latter also captured using 4DViews technology. Tin Drum reports that its mixed reality works have been seen by over 100,000 people to date.
The production represents a significant case study in applying volumetric capture and optical see-through AR to live performance, demonstrating how pre-recorded dimensional content can create intimate theatrical encounters without requiring actors to be physically present for each showing.
