Projects
Small Wide World
Small Wide World
Small Wide World is a tiny AR town on a tabletop where real performances unfold inside chip shops, launderettes and working men’s clubs: blending theatre, film and immersive tech to share fun, intimate stories from contemporary Northern working-class life.
Small Wide World is a tiny town that lives on a tabletop, viewed through a phone or tablet. Using augmented reality, audiences will look down onto a miniature Northern street complemented with a chippy, local gym, launderette, working men’s club etc. and tap into each building to reveal short monologues. Real actors appear inside hand-sculpted, papier-mâché-style sets, so it feels like peering into a tiny theatre, blending elements of theatre, film and immersive tech.
Experiment
£20,000
I’ll be testing how people move around and interact with this small AR town in community settings like libraries, cafés and community centres, and exploring what makes these bite-sized, up-close stories feel satisfying and accessible.
Aims of the project
The project is built in Unreal Engine, with sets sculpted in VR and performances composited into the miniature spaces in a playful, collage-like style.
Small Wide World is an experiment in using immersive tools on everyday devices to celebrate the humour, intimacy and texture of contemporary Northern working-class life, without needing headsets or big screens.
Meet Small Wide World
Tom Diffenthal
Lead Artist
he/him
Tom Diffenthal is a filmmaker, immersive artist and creative technologist based in Sheffield. He makes playful, narrative-led work that sits between film, theatre and interactive media, often exploring working-class stories, music cultures and everyday spaces. His practice spans VR, film, game engine and DIY production, with a strong interest in how emerging tech can feel intimate, handmade and accessible rather than overwhelming. Alongside commissioned projects and client work, Tom develops experimental prototypes and collaborative pieces that test new pipelines and formats for storytelling, often in partnership with local artists, venues and communities.
