GEMMA BROCKIS

shunt

Gemma was a founder of the hugely influential and multi-award-winning Shunt collective, which hit the British arts scene in the early 2000s.

• ‘Shunt pioneered what came to be known as immersive theatre.’ (Wired)

• ‘The daddies of immersive theatre'. (Time Out)

• ‘Shunt are innovators whose ambitious work has long worried at the definitions of audience, venue and performance, whose powers to unsettle and surprise through sheer theatricality far outstripped the company’s many aesthetic imitators.' (Total Theatre)

• ‘Radical. Original. Incredible.’ (Time Out)

• ‘The most innovative company in Britain.’ (The Guardian)

THEATRE IN REAL ENVIRONMENTS

Gemma has been making performance within real environments since she was at university. Collaborations include: Pinocchio (in a car); Still Night (a false lecture on the real city); Monument with Wiretapper (headphones on the streets); The Tempest with Chris Goode (in people’s homes).

• 'The real star of the show is Dublin itself, made strangely new and wondrous through the smudged windows.'  (Dublin Times on Pinocchio - 2009)

• ‘One of the all-time-great Edinburgh fringe productions.’ (The Guardian on The Tempest - 2000)

ONLINE

In lockdown, Gemma lay in bed and created an online advent calendar with twenty-four brilliant artists and makers.

• ‘Oddvent was necessary for the communal soul of participants and makers alike. It sustained us and nourished us during an isolating time, and brought us together. Full of heart.’ (Julia Masli - artist)

FREELANCE PERFORMER

Gemma is currently performing with Deadweight in The Manikins and Darkfield in Arcade (audio).
Other collaborations on immersive shows include: Coney, Punchdruck, Gideon Reeling and the BAC one-on-one festival:

• ‘The luminous Gemma Brockis is Max, and she’s so adorable you just want to eat her up. As delightful as any pudding. Go and be transported.’  (Fourth Wall)

Testimonials

• ‘I have worked with Gemma on numerous immersive projects. She is an incredible theatre maker, writer & collaborator. She has a unique ability to determine what is truly important and meaningful amongst the general chaotic overload of the creative process.’ (David Rosenberg - Co-founder of Shunt. Now Artistic Director of Darkfield)

• ‘Gemma Brockis is one my favorite bright minds in immersive performance.’ (Brian Solomon - Creative Tech Director at Framestore, NYC and creator of the XR team at Meow Wulf)

Full length SHUNT shows : HERE

SHORT-FORM PROJECTS :

AS CONSULTANT:

Image: Britt Hatzius (Pinocchio) | Susanne Dietz (Shunt Shows) | NK Guy (Shunt Lounge) | Lottie Davies (Oddvent) | (Hotel)