A Dystopian ‘Black Mirror’ Experience Lands at the Shed

A new immersive experience that channels the hit series is making its U.S. debut at New York’s the Shed on June 20.

In a limited run set to end in September, participants will be plunged deep inside an original story from Charlie Brooker’s dystopian universe. Centered around artificial intelligence, virtual reality, digital avatars, and personal biometric data, the experience promises to probe the most pressing issues of our time.

In the experience, which merges V.R. technology with physical sets, participants are ushered into the showroom of Phaethon, a technology corporation named after the Greek sun god, for its grand opening. The company is set to launch LifeAgent, a humanoid robot which, as its name suggests, promises to unlock some serious lifemaxxing by learning about their users and anticipating their needs. What could possibly go wrong?

Quite a lot it turns out, with up to six participants navigating a deteriorating storyline in an hour-long experience. Ahead of the experience, participants will create a personal avatar by offering up their face and voice data to an A.I. Organizers stress no prior knowledge of is necessary because, as ever, its themes of surveillance and privacy, A.I. and consciousness, and technology’s ability to amplify human flaws will be familiar to anyone not living under a rock in 2026.

The immersive experience was developed by the Paris-based entertainment company Banijay Live Studio in partnership with the technology firm Univrse. According to the organizers, one of the goals was to create a hybrid experience that harnesses the immersive power of virtual reality while grounding it in a physical environment.

“What excited us was the tension between the familiar and the uncanny; the feeling that the world you’re stepping into could be just one decision away,” David Bardos, a co-founder at Univrse, said in a statement. “That’s what has always done, and we built the experience to live inside that feeling.”

The Black Mirror Experience debuted at the Cannes Film Festival’s immersive competition this past May, where it received the Special Jury Prize in the category devoted to V.R., augmented reality, and other spatial storytelling works. It opened at Montreal’s Infinity Experience space last month and its showing in New York will run concurrently with one at Espacio Delicias in Madrid.

The Shed, a Diller Scofidio + Renfro-designed space in New York’s Hudson Yards, has become one of the city’s leading venues for large-scale immersive works. It has previously hosted a mixed-reality concert experience featuring Ryuichi Sakamoto, staged , a headphone-guided installation by immersive theater pioneers Punchdrunk, and presented , described as the first play created for mixed reality.

“Since its inception, has explored the intersection between humanity and technology, shaping how we see ourselves and one another in our modern age,” Alex Poots, the Shed’s artistic director said in a statement. “At The Shed, the US premiere will bring audiences closer to the drama in innovative and intimate ways.”