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This article discusses a project using Extended Reality (XR) within theatre and its effect on audiences who are part of the testing and development of a theatrical production. The article develops knowledge surrounding agency/embodiment and multimodal story telling utilizing virtual reality (VR) and motion capture technologies. There is also contained within the article a demonstration of how a university and a theatre company can collaborate using XR technologies. This collaboration is presented based on three interviews with key members of the team. At the time of writing the production is still undergoing final developments. The discussion places the practice within the field of immersive performance and new technologies. Many of the claims made are based on practice-based experiences and the messy data provided by test audiences who are asked to freely respond after the showings. The multiplicity of reactions to this performance artwork are discussed in relation to the emergent, accidental and playful results of multimodal practices often presenting themselves as a set of performative frames instead of a synergistic whole.

This editorial outlines the scope of this special issue on puppetry. The issue editors introduce articles that theorize the use of puppets for a purpose and present dialogues with practitioners working in the field. The authors emphasize the power of puppetry within contemporary cultural systems and the plethora of diverse practices comprising applied puppetry. The lively and developing field of applied puppetry is presented as involving new thinking and methods that have been adopted globally. The editorial argues that applied puppetry, as well as being a set of practices that can affect the lives of participants, is also a robust academic field. The authors hope for a reconsideration of objects in applied theatre practice generally, as a way to further understand networks in socially engaged performance practices.

This article addresses the issues involved in the practice of applied puppetry in relation to immigration detention. Its reflections and assertions are situated within recent debates about the practice of the puppeteer with groups in workshops. This scholarly praxis has evolved from ideas drawn from the practice of a research project conducted in an immigration removal centre in the United Kingdom. The article explores making puppets and performing puppet shows in this traumatic detention environment, and reflects on the knowledge gained through subsequent lecture performances. The author has used puppetry previously in a number of unusual settings to engage groups, and these inform the discussion here. The article explores personal accounts of practice, experiences of workshops and questions about power and ethics. The global organization supporting puppetry, Union Internationale de la Marionette (UNIMA), has been reflecting on the use of puppetry in education and continues to be a vital source in the development of these debates. For example, the publication The Power of the Puppet is a good introduction to the issues around using puppets with groups.

This project/workshop report introduces the ways Matt Smith and PickleHerring Theatre approaches community puppetry. The report emphasizes the group experience, the participants' play and the levels of creativity in the workshops/projects. The efficacy of puppetry as an important form of community arts practice is given in the summary.