Virtual reality and video gaming techniques could give a new lease of life to radio and theatre plays.
Researchers at Aberystwyth University have transformed a radio play written more than 20 years ago into an interactive virtual reality (VR) experience.
Audiences are being given the chance to experience the play Mapping the Soul in a unique and immersive way by wearing VR headsets.
They move through a series of computer-generated locations, following the main character Adam and interacting with him as he goes on a philosophical journey through his subconscious in search of his soul.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004, Mapping the Soul was written by playwright and scriptwriter Dr Lucy Gough, a Creative Research Fellow at Aberystwyth University’s Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies.
Dr Gough has been working with Dr Piotr Woycicki, a lecturer in Theatre and New Media at Aberystwyth, to reimagine her radio play and transform it into a virtual experience.
Their research featured in The Coronation Challenge, organised by the Royal Anniversary Trust and bringing together researchers from universities and colleges who were recent winners of the prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prizes, the highest national honour in education.
The year-long research initiative explored how the combination of creativity and emerging technologies – known as CreaTech – can drive innovation, create jobs and position the UK as a global leader in the creative industries.
Its findings were published in a major new report in February 2025, The Coronation Challenge: CreaTech Report, by the UK Government’s Department for Culture Media & Sport and the Royal Anniversary Trust.
Dr Piotr Woycicki from Aberystwyth University’s Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies said:
“Our project explored the unique capabilities of VR and how the technology can be used for dramatic and narrative purposes. We were delighted to have been able to contribute to the CreaTech report, which shows how creativity can interact with emerging technologies to grow the creative industries and make an even stronger impact on both the economy and society. We hope our research will inspire theatre producers to engage more with creative tech and VR game creators to collaborate with playwrights to create more theatrical products.”
Dr Lucy Gough said:
“By turning Mapping the Soul into a virtual reality experience, we’re able to investigate the unique capabilities of VR, such as virtual embodiment and sensory illusions, to enhance storytelling and audience engagement. As well as providing another platform to explore the creative imagination, we’re also showing there are new ways of bringing the radio play into the public arena and that another medium is evolving which can drive fresh narratives and dramatic possibilities.”
A prototype of the VR version of Mapping the Soul is available free online but viewers will need their own VR headsets to follow the action. Plans are also underway to distribute the final version worldwide on the Steam platform and to stage public screenings in theatres or galleries.
The Mapping the Soul VR project also received funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW – now known as Medr).
