A new theatrical production is attracting gamers and anime enthusiasts to Shanghai. Immersive Arcane, a 120-minute live experience, has hosted dozens of performances since its March premiere, drawing thousands of spectators nationwide.
As the flagship production of Shanghai Media Group's "See You in Shanghai!" resident-performance brand, Immersive Arcane is the world's first stage adaptation of the animated series Arcane: League of Legends.
The story follows two sisters pitted against each other. A cast of over 30 performers presents songs, dances, and combat and acrobatic stunts across a dynamic two-level space, moving through dozens of evolving scenes and advancing multiple storylines simultaneously.
Audiences can explore the various sets spread across two floors of the specially renovated annex at the historic Shanghai Hotel. They can choose to follow characters such as Jinx, Vi, Silco, or Caitlyn, immersing themselves in the vibrant, contrasting worlds of Piltover and Zaun. Avid fans are encouraged to attend multiple times to experience the narrative from different character perspectives and locations within the venue.
Immersive Arcane is produced by Tencent Video and Tencent Games, and co-produced by SMG Live, Riot Games, Wajijiwa Entertainment, Shanghai Oriental Pearl (Group) Co, and the renowned London-based immersive theater company Punchdrunk — creators of Sleep No More, which has been running in Shanghai for over a decade.
According to Conor Doyle, creative director of both the Shanghai production of Sleep No More and Immersive Arcane, this new project is far more complex than its predecessor. While Sleep No More is an immersive adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, Immersive Arcane presented unique hurdles.
"Creating an immersive musical has been extremely challenging," Doyle says. "You have a microphone signal from a speaker in one room, with a performer moving, and that signal feeds into another set of speakers. Ten years ago, this would have been nearly impossible to achieve."
Another significant challenge was adapting the widely beloved animated characters for live performance. For the lead character Jinx, everything from the shape of her eyebrows to the weight and style of her braided hair sparked intense discussion within the creative team.
"We wanted to make her feel expressive and animated, yet also human and approachable," Doyle explains. "Jinx needs to function in this world as the villain, the maniac, the vandal — but also, as someone mentioned earlier, as the girl you want to reach through the screen and embrace."
Arcane's original soundtrack plays a vital role in the storytelling and character portrayal. "It has allowed us to give the characters a real inner monologue that feels honest and intimate," Doyle adds.
"Jinx's crazy vibe took me right back to playing the game. I felt like I was her character; it was that exact feeling," says Wang Damou, an audience member at one of the beta shows.
Beginning with Sleep No More, SMG Live has produced several live performance projects through the years, building its capabilities, says Zhao Chenlin, vice-president of SMG Live and executive producer of Immersive Arcane.
"Over time, we've gained a clear understanding of what international top-tier productions are doing, how they operate, and how to push toward the highest standards ourselves.
"I believe China's theatergoers are among the most demanding in the world. They've set the bar so high," she says. "If there's a 'newest, most cutting-edge' immersive project in the world, it's likely born in China, specifically in Shanghai."
SMG launched the "See You in Shanghai!" campaign last year to develop live performances that attract out-of-town visitors, thereby boosting tourism and consumption. The new show is seen as pivotal to this initiative.
"This is a show for audiences and gamers from around the world," Zhao says. "I know there is a large base of League of Legends players in South Korea who are very interested, and there is already considerable discussion on international social media about traveling to Shanghai to see it."
She also notes that Shanghai hosts numerous League of Legends events annually, which will help draw potential audiences to the production.
