ImproBeirut is a theatre company unlike any other - over the years, the company has developed a new technique. Lucien Bourjeily of ImproBeirut calls it ‘the active interactive theatre’ or ‘scientific endeavour’. Time Out Beirut gets a closer look at what 4D theatre is really about.

ImproBeirut previously experimented with engaging the audience in its plays. Noticing the positive response from participants, the company sought to expand and transcend the traditional notion of ‘theatre’; how it is enacted and watched. A key part of their work is also to engage younger audiences that have become apathetic, or disinterested in the traditional idea of theatre. Bourjeily’s contention is that the time spent online on social media sites has made the current young generation thirsty for a more interactive and alternative theatre. ‘[We] want to tap into a segment that wants to interact, not just a traditional play’.

This July, Lucien and ImproBeirut introduce the concept of 4D theatre for the first time. Unlike the traditional stage using actors and a script, the audience becomes the protagonists, merging into the play through directed improvisation. The play will be split into four main acts, where only the starting point and the final are certain: ‘in between you don’t know, anything can happen’, Bourjeily says. Four participants for each staging will be driven around Achrafieh to four different indoor and outdoor locations where they will improvise a script together with members of the theatre company. Each session will take up to three hours, but the actual improvisation, or play, will only last up to 60 minutes. A day to engage all your senses and experience alternative theatre.

Author: Emelie Westberg

Reservations are a must, to reserve call 03 153772. Tickets LL20,000. July 2-July 3