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Empire at Sea is playing in competition at Venice Immersive, which runs from 2 to 12 September 2026 on Lazzaretto Vecchio. The 22-minute piece is built for ten people at a time. Participants wear Apple Vision Pro headsets and stand around a custom-built LED table.
Volumetrically captured actors perform on the tabletop in passthrough mixed reality. Lincoln Center and ASU Gammage commissioned the work from director Peter Flaherty. Lincoln Center has it booked for January 2027.
Versions for VR headsets and mobile phones are planned for home audiences, according to the production’s press notes.
4DV.ai supplied the volumetric capture. Dialogue runs in more than one place at once. Participants choose a conversation “by walking around the table and positioning themselves accordingly”, wrote Luke Buckmaster. He reviewed the piece for The VR Critic on 4 September. A vote near the end of the story puts the characters lifesize around the table. The vote and the choice of where to stand feed a branching narrative.
The story is set on an oil rig called Aurora. Climate scientists have built a sustainable community at sea, and a mainland disaster five years earlier has cut them off. A young woman named Lani spots a boat on the horizon. The group has to decide whether to take the arrivals in. The cast is Orlando Jones, Ayelet Zurer, Geoffrey Arend, Beth Grant, Imani Jade Powers and Mary Chieffo.
Ten people per session against a 22-minute runtime puts the ceiling near 27 guests an hour before turnaround. That ceiling is arithmetic off the published group size and runtime. Each installation needs ten Apple Vision Pro headsets and one custom-built LED table.
Venice Immersive lists Empire at Sea as an installation in mixed reality, one of 30 projects in competition at the tenth edition.
Flaherty made The Dial, an augmented-reality and projection-mapping work shown at Sundance in 2019. He was creative director on the Eternals augmented-reality project for Marvel Studios and Disney in 2021. Jesse Garrison is the production’s lead developer and technical director.
Empire at Sea moves between institutions instead of fitting out one building. The set and the headsets travel with it. The VR Collective reported on 2 July 2026 that VIVE Arts backed a mixed-reality experience with the pianist Yuja Wang. That experience had its UK premiere at the Southbank Centre, another presenting institution.
For other presenting institutions weighing a similar commission, Empire at Sea and the Yuja Wang piece at Southbank Centre are now two data points in the same lane: both booked as travelling installations for a limited run. For operators, that names who is buying into this format so far: performing-arts institutions, on a touring basis.
What is Empire at Sea? A 22-minute mixed reality drama directed by Peter Flaherty. It is made for ten people at a time on Apple Vision Pro headsets around a custom-built LED table. It is playing in competition at Venice Immersive, which runs from 2 to 12 September 2026.
How many people can watch the shared mixed reality drama at once? Ten, wearing Apple Vision Pro headsets, according to The VR Critic’s 4 September review. Ten people against a 22-minute runtime puts the ceiling near 27 guests an hour before turnaround. That ceiling is arithmetic off the published group size and runtime.
What hardware does a shared mixed reality installation like this need? Ten Apple Vision Pro headsets and one custom-built LED table. The cast was captured volumetrically with technology from 4DV.ai.
Where can Empire at Sea be seen after Venice Immersive? Lincoln Center has it booked for January 2027. The production’s press notes say VR-headset and mobile versions are planned for home audiences.
Who commissioned Empire at Sea? Lincoln Center and ASU Gammage commissioned the work from director Peter Flaherty.
