Chenfei 
 

The Grudge (2019) is an immersive theatre performance at the Phoenix Gallery and Main Theatre Room, Deakin University. The show begins with a one-on-one interactive performance at the Phoenix Gallery site. In this performance, a volunteering or random participant is selected, while others remain outside with a TV screen live streaming the performance inside. The selected participant can simply enjoy the one-on-one performance with the actor, listening to the lore of the fictional world, or spend more time solving a series of given mysteries that will influence the story later – in the second part of the performance.

Once the first part is finished, the actor leads the group to the black box theatre space in the main theatre room of the same building. The second part of the performance invites the participant to a fictional world as a witness of a brutal family murder under the influence of the ancient curse ‘grudge’. This part of the performance loops three times, and the participant can interfere at any time during these loops. At the end of the three loops, the participant faces a major selection choice that can lead the story to an alternative ending. However, this choice depends on what the participant from the gallery scene has done previously, as well as whether the participant has interfered during the previous loops.