Projects
BARRIO: An Immersive Theatre-Club Experience
BARRIO: An Immersive Theatre-Club Experience
A rave at the edge of demolition. A community at the edge of change. Inspired by the gentrification of Elephant and Castle in London and the real-life stories of first- and second-generation migrants.
In response to the decline of traditional club culture and rising costs of entertainment, the need for meaningful social connections has never been greater. CVP has been developing a third-space - an immersive environment that blends community, culture and nighlife.
BARRIO sits at the centre of this concept. Set within the fictional Castleview Estate, a community facing demolition, the story follows Santiago, his friends and family as they confront a life-changing decision: resist redevelopment plans or imagine new futures beyond the estate’s crumbling walls.
Inspired by the regeneration of Elephant and Castle, London, and shaped by the LatinX community who call the area home, BARRIO has been in development since 2021 with continued support from Arts Council England. The forthcoming phase advances the project through the integration of immersive technologies, with sound as the central artistic medium, and a commitment to embedding accessibility throughout the creative process.
Experiment
£20,000
Aims of the project
The binaural headset experience will support personal reflection, while a communal, headset-free rave environment will use spatial audio to generate shared energy and catharsis through the power of a live DJ set.
Sound serves as a shared language between theatre audiences and nightclub goers. Using binaural and spatial audio technologies, CVP will explore placing audiences inside layered sonic environments that reveal characters’ inner thoughts, memories, and emotional states across shifting timelines and perspectives.
BARRIO fuses theatre and club culture into an interactive, immersive experience where audiences don’t just watch a story of regeneration - they move inside it.
Meet the artists
Sara Al Ghanem
Writer & Director
she/her
Maria Cuervo
Creative Producer
she/her
María Cuervo is a Colombian, award-winning multidisciplinary producer. With an MA (Distinction) in Creative Producing from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, María produces theatre, immersive and multidisciplinary performances that provoke conversations and push boundaries between performance, audience interaction, magic and realism.
Previous producing work includes Black Athena Festival (Rich Mix 2026), Foolish Brother (BAC 2024-27), the 5-star endurance performance The Second Woman starring Ruth Wilson (Young Vic & LIFT Festival 2023), 1797: The Mariner’s Revenge (Old Royal Naval College 2022), Balthazar Treasure: The Cacao Quest (LIFT Festival 2019), among others.
