Playing With Fire is a virtual reality installation at London’s Southbank Centre in which an avatar of pianist Yuja Wang performs nine pieces by composers including Ravel, Debussy, Prokofiev and Liszt, each set within a distinct, immersive dreamworld experienced through VR headsets. The show runs at Southbank Centre until the new year, following earlier stagings in Cannes, Paris and Shanghai.
What is Playing With Fire?
Playing With Fire pairs Wang’s virtual performance with visually dazzling, computer-generated environments that shift and evolve with each musical piece, creating an effect one review likened to Disney’s Fantasia intensified for the digital age. The project is a collaboration between Wang, director Pierre-Alain Giraud and artist Gabríela Friðriksdóttir, produced by Vive Arts and Atlas V, blending live-inspired performance capture with immersive digital artistry.
Audience members wear VR headsets to watch as Wang’s avatar moves through nine separate luminous worlds, each conjured to match the mood and character of the music being played, ranging from the impressionistic textures of Debussy and Ravel to the dramatic intensity of Prokofiev and the virtuosic flourish of Liszt.
Why is this happening now, and what makes it notable?
The London staging arrives at a striking moment, coinciding with Wang’s own real-world appearance as a soloist at the Last Night of the Proms, meaning she is effectively performing in two different London venues at once through her physical presence and her digital avatar. The installation raises questions about how classical music performance can be reimagined through virtual reality technology, offering audiences an alternative, immersive way to experience a live soloist’s artistry.
It might be the first time a soloist at the Last Night of the Proms is simultaneously performing at another venue across town, organisers noted.
Where has the show travelled, and what’s next?
Before opening in London, Playing With Fire had already toured to Cannes, Paris and Shanghai, building a track record as a boundary-pushing example of how VR technology can be applied to classical music performance and visual art. Its extended run at Southbank Centre through the end of the year gives London audiences an ongoing opportunity to experience the installation.
