Research of audience engagement during Jeff Wayne’sThe War of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience

Important information – please read carefully!

Thank you for expressing your interest in participating in the research The same art, a different experience? A Comparative study of audience engagement during the mixed-reality performance Jeff Wayne’s The War of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience .

The independent research is conducted by Dr Agnieszka Wlazel, funded by the British Academy and realised in collaboration with Layered Reality(TM) and Octodata. The study aims to provide a new understanding of engagement in innovative art projects. We are interested in what you think about this immersive experience and how your body reacts to it.

Dates of the research – between 24.05 and 1.06.2025.

Place – 56 Leadenhall Street, EC3A 2BJ London.

By filling in the Expression of Interest Form you agree to engage in research activities including:

* taking part in Jeff Wayne's The War of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience (WoTW). Your experience will be monitored by a wearable device that collects real-time physiological reactions. The recordings are made in an entirely non-invasive manner by a small device positioned on your wrist;

* filling in two questionnaires: before and after the WoTW experience (ca. 10 min. each);

* (potentially) engage in a 20-minute online interview a few days after the experience.

All physiological data, questionnaires, and transcripts of individual interviews will be anonymised.

Participation in the experience is free, however you will need to buy your General Admission ticket (in the price range between £34 and £38 with a 40% off discount thanks to the discount code you receive in the confirmation email). All research participants will receive the reimbursement for ticket price (in cash) on the day of the research, directly after they finish the post-experience questionnaire.

There is a possibility to participate in the research in small, up to 4 people, groups, but each person needs to fill in a separate Expression of Interest Form.

The recruitment of participants will happen until 2.05.25. Within 48 hours you will receive a confirmation with instructions for purchase and a discount code. You will need to buy your ticket by the 3rd of May 2025. After this date, your place will be offered to people on the waiting list.

If you buy your ticket but can't participate, contact the researcher via audiencingart(at)gmail.com. It is possible to change a participant, but we will not be able to reimburse the ticket if you don't take part in the research.

Expression of Interest Form

1/ What is your name and surname?

2/ What is your e-mail address?

3/ What is your gender

Female

Male

Other

4/ To which age group do you belong?

5/ What is your ethnicity/cultural background?

6/ For each statement, please indicate what is most true for you.

7/ If you have experienced virtual reality (VR) before, what kind of experience was it? Mark all relevant options

8/ How often do you attend art events or visit art institutions i.e. theatre, museum, art gallery, cinema, event in a library or festival in the public space ?

9/ There are up to 4 places for each experience. If you would like to be accompanied by other people, please add their name(s) below and ask them to fill in a separate Expression of Interest form(s).

Each participant should provide the names of all desired co-participants. We will do our best to accept all for the same experience.

10/ Please write below at least two choices of your preferred dates & hours of the War of the Worlds experience.

The show lasts 1 hour 50 minutes including a 20-minute interval but please calculate additional 30 minutes before and after the show.

Available slots are

24.05 & 25.05 (Sat & Sun) at 12, 3pm, 6pm

28.05 – 31.05 (Wed to Sat) at 12, 3pm, 6pm

1.06 (Sun) at 2pm, 5pm

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