HOMECOMING
Mixed Reality Performance x Interactive Experience
by Choreographer Georgia Tegou & Visual Artist Kristina Pulejkova
What happens when your world falls apart? You descend into the underworld and reclaim your ruins, pick up your wrinkled thoughts. And then...
HOMECOMING blends storytelling, dynamic choreography, and cutting-edge technology to trace the journey of a woman searching for her lost sense of self. A ghost, trapped in an otherworldly limbo, searches desperately to reclaim its body. Guided by The Watcher, an eternal being who aids those who have slipped through the cracks, she pieces together fragmented memories, uncovering a path out of oblivion. Told from the spirit’s perspective, this emotionally charged narrative explores disconnection, the cathartic joy of rediscovering oneself, and the slow process of rebuilding after burnout.
At its heart, HOMECOMING is a meditation on identity, loss, and self-discovery. The work draws from the evocative imagery of Louise Bourgeois, whose Femme Maison series explores the entanglement of female identity with space, containment, and fragmentation, and Caravaggio’s striking chiaroscuro, where light and shadow carve out moments of revelation and emotional intensity. Shaped by these aesthetic influences, its world unfolds like a series of moving paintings. Conceptually rooted in the question Can entropy be reversed? and inspired by the myth of Eurydice, the work shifts the perspective—what if she could find her own way back from the underworld?
Through a stunning live performance interwoven with immersive interactive projections, we follow a journey between two worlds, where reality bends and breaks. This raw and emotional tale invites you to dive into the ghost's haunting memories and unravel the mystery of her forgotten identity, resonating with anyone who has ever had to reclaim what was once lost. This is not just a story of survival, but of rebirth—a visceral reminder of the strength it takes to come home to oneself.
There are two ways to experience HOMECOMING: as an immersive theatre performance that merges live performance with digital elements, or as a VR experience in The Lowry’s lobby. In the VR experience, you step into the role of the ghost, unlocking the story through your own movement. Accessibility is integral to the piece, placing it at its core.
Live Performance Duration: 60 minutes
VR Experience Duration: 30 minutes
Concept, Direction, Choreography, Visual Design
GEORGIA TEGOU & KRISTINA PULEJKOVA
Music Composition & Sound Design
VINCENT CAVANAGH / THE RADICANT
Costume Designer
JUSTIN SMITH / JSMITH ESQUIRE
Lead Creative Coders and Visual Artists for the VR experience
UNCHARTED LIMBO COLLECTIVE
Lighting Designer
JACKIE SHEMESH
Performers in the VR Experience
EDD ARNOLD, XAN DYE, KIMBERLEY HARVEY, SYNNE LUNDESGAARD, AKSHAY SHARMA, ANNA SMITH
Performers in the Live Theatre Performance
XAN DYE, ARRAN GREEN, KIMBERLEY HARVEY, SYNNE LUNDESGAARD, AKSHAY SHARMA, ARTEMIS STAMOULI
Associate Lighting Designer and Production Manager
JOE HORNSBY
Rehearsal Director
ARTEMIS STAMOULI
Performance Coach
SARAH WALTON
360 Videography
SIVANI HASSARD
Holograms & Trailers Videography
JACKIE READ
VR Animation
DAVE NORTON / LIMBOTECH
VR Consultant and Interact Machine Learning Researcher and Developer
CLARICE HILTON
Creative Producer
LINDA PĒTERKOPA
Producing Consultant
LIA PRENTAKI
Assistant Creative Producer
MARITA ANASTASI
Special thanks to our R&D Performers NATHAN GOODMAN, PAULINA PORWOLLIK, JOSHUA JAMES SMITH
About the directors
Choreographer and stage director, Georgia Tegou’s work approaches 'Dance-as-design', intertwining choreography with design to create immersive visual environments. Drawing inspiration from architecture, sculpture, visual arts, science and philosophy, she explores the symbiotic relationship between dance and spatial arts, seeking to encapsulate nuances of the human condition. The performances and installations are created through collaborative processes resulting in experiences that blend contemporary dance, visual physical theatre and performance art. Her work has been presented by organisations such as Dance Umbrella International Festival, Sadler’s Wells, the Royal Opera House, Onassis Stegi, the Greek National Opera, the Venice Biennale of Architecture, The Place, ZfinMalta National Dance Company, Southbank Centre, The Whitechapel Gallery among others. It has received acclaim and has been described as 'Visually evocative' (Eckhard Thiemann - The Lowry) ‘Dreamlike (The Times), 'Tremendously clever’, ‘Admirably Strong’ (Sanjoy Roy), ‘work that’s shifting and challenging dance and its intersectionality to broaden access to wider communities’ (Dance Umbrella). She has choreographed two official music videos for dance-pop cult favorite Róisín Murphy and she has directed fashion editorials. She is a Higher Education Academy Fellow, she was recognized with an ‘Excellence in Teaching Award’ by the University of Roehampton and she guest lectures globally. She is currently an artist in residence at Somerset House Exchange, a programme supporting extraordinary interdisciplinary practitioners.
Kristina Pulejkova is a visual artist based in London, UK. Her interdisciplinary practice is informed by science and technology. Kristina’s work explores how the use of technology might lead to greater forms of sustainability in human-nature relationships.Working across moving image, sound and installation, she aims to build subjective narratives based on scientific data and principles. In her work, she tends to imagine voices from creatures, objects and even atoms to inhabit non-human perspectives. Through the use of immersive technology, her works often deal with environmental issues, telling personal stories that place audiences at the centre of the scene, allowing for a protagonist’s perspective and a different way of seeing. Kristina holds a Magisterium Degree (BA + MA) in Painting and Animation from the University for Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria (2012) and an MA Degree in Art and Science from Central Saint Martins, London, UK (2014). She is the recipient of the inaugural FLAMIN Fellowship by Film London (2017). Kristina’s works have been exhibited/screened at the Ars Electronica Festival, Linz, AT; National Gallery, Skopje, NMK; MoCA, Skopje NMK; The Science Museum, London, UK; MAN Museum, Sardinia, IT; The V&A, London, UK; MAK, Vienna, AT; Project Space Kunsthalle, Vienna, AT; Het Glaspaviljoen, Eindhoven, NL; Upstream Gallery, Amsterdam, NL; Art COP21 Paris, FR; Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK; Art Licks Festival, London UK; Lewisham Art House, London, UK; and Royal College of Arts, London, UK amongst others.
Creative team
Music composition & Sound design: The Radicant, aka Vincent Cavanagh, collaborates internationally on AI/VR projects (BBC, London Session Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Bulgarian National Philarmonic Orchestra, Sonar Barcelona, NADA Miami). Formerly Anathema's frontman released 11 studio albums, toured globally and earned several awards like Anthem of the Year & Album of the Year (Progressive Music Awards). Focusing on cutting-edge collaborations, he continues to push boundaries in music, technology & art.
Costume Designer Justin Smith, graduated with distinction from the Royal College of Art, shaping his label JSmith Esquire. His handcrafted millinery and costume designs have adorned celebrities and featured in collaborations with Angelina Jolie, Emma Thompson, Robert Downey Jr, Star Wars and Stella McCartney. Justin's innovative approach has earned accolades, with his work displayed in international galleries and permanent collections at institutions like London’s V&A and New York’s FIT.
Lighting Designer: Jackie Shemesh designs lighting for dance, theatre and visual art. He has collaborated with Ben Duke and Lost Dog for more then a decade, designing most of their works. He has worked with many dance organisations such as the Batsheva Ensemble, Rambert, Ballet Boys, Scottish Dance Theatre, Dorky Park (Berlin), National Welsh Dance, Candoco Dance and Protein Dance. Other choreographers include Stephanie Schober, Jamila Johnson-Small, Eva Recacha, Nigel Charnock, Hetain Patel, Arthur Pita, Alexander Whitley and more. Theatre credits: ‘Ramayana’ for the Lyric Hammersmith, The Hound of the Baskervilles for Peepolykus and Neal Street Productions, Vanya and Mary Stuart (Rob Icke) for Almeida Theatre.
Associate Lighting Designer: Joe Hornsby is a lighting designer of theatre, dance, immersive productions, music and events. His recent credits include productions with Polka Theatre, Theatre Rites, 20-Stories High, Deafinitely Theatre, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, James Cousins Company, Strictly Arts Theatre Company, Marc Brew Company and Pell Ensemble. Joe was associate designer on the 2018 West End transfer of hit musical Caroline, Or Change. Joe is passionate about creating unique and unexpected designs and enjoys collaborations incorporating light into props and staging.
Creative Technologists: Uncharted Limbo Collective, creative coders and visual artists, they craft ground-breaking New Media experiences and artworks at the unlikely intersections of code, interactive visuals, and performing arts. Fusing their individual expertise in the fields of Computational Design, Game Development, VFX, Film & Architecture, they founded the Collective to work in ways far greater than the sum of their parts. Collaborations include Alexander Whitley Dance Company, MET, Nike.
Performers
