Koro Productions’ new initiative, Koro Lab, which supports migrant and Global Majority creatives in developing bold immersive, interactive and site-specific work, has been holding workshops and R&Ds over the last few months. We caught up with Koro to talk about their new initiative, what this brings to the wider industry and our continued partnership.

Hey Koro team! Could you please introduce yourselves and your role(s)

Hey hey! We are Koro.

We are a creative team dedicated to making arts more accessible and bringing immersive performances outside of traditional theatre structures. We love creating work that is inclusive, challenging, and fun for people of all ages and backgrounds. We are:

Marie Klimis (she/her) – Artistic Director: is a writer, theatre-maker, and producer specialised in immersive and site-specific performance. Her work focuses on multidisciplinary projects combining socially-engaged storytelling with immersive set and sound design. Before founding Koro, she was Senior Producer at Coney and is also one of the directors of migrant-led immersive theatre company 27 degrees.

Seyi Osi (she/they) – Producer: is a producer, stage manager and event manager from South East London. With a background in artist development and community-led arts events, Seyi seeks to produce arts and culture that highlights the Black and/or Queer experience, including collaboration with Raze Collective, The Cocoa Butter Club and Marlborough Productions.

Tell us about Koro, why was it created and what sort of events you put on

Koro is an arts organisation specialising in immersive, interactive and site-specific theatre. We create and produce shows that place audiences at the heart of the storytelling experience, using immersion and play to explore urgent contemporary stories and the global histories that shaped them.

Some recent projects include 1884, an anti-colonial game-theatre show that toured nationally and internationally in 2024-2025 (Shoreditch Town Hall, Warwick Arts Centre, HOME Manchester, Norwich Theatre, Wellcome Collection, MIR Festival). Or Checkpoint Universe, an immersive show for families exploring migration stories through space travel, developed by 27 degrees in partnership with Jacksons Lane and The Albany. We also create site-specific projects that invite audiences to discover non-traditional spaces in new ways, including I am Bird, an interactive migration adventure for community libraries.

Our ambition is to launch a biennial festival specialised in socially-engaged immersive performance taking over London’s arts, heritage, community and public spaces. The first edition of Koro Festival will launch in May 2027, so watch this space!

(c) 1884 at Shoreditch Town Hall, image by Alex Brenner.

Koro Lab is in its inaugural year and began at Shoreditch Town Hall in May. Could you tell us about the programme, why it was created and what it offers artists?

Koro Lab supports migrant and Global Majority creatives to develop bold immersive, interactive and site-specific work through artist development and R&D commissions.

The programme is delivered in partnership with Shoreditch Town Hall, Theatre Deli, Leadenhall Market and Wellcome Collection. Since May, we have been offering nine artists training, free rehearsal space, mentoring, production and access support, and seed funding to develop new work and present them in front of an audience of industry professionals. The programme kickstarted by a two-day programme of workshops in immersive and site-specific theatre-making at Shoreditch Town Hall, including sessions with Dante or Die, ZU-UK and Nick Murray. At the end of the programme, a selection of Koro Lab artists will also be supported to develop full productions as part of Koro Festival.

Could you elaborate on how Koro Labs is an essential opportunity for migrant and Global Majority artists and the industry?

Koro Lab was created to address a gap and provide paid development opportunities for migrant and Global Majority artists to experiment and grow their practice specifically within the immersive sector.

It is widely acknowledged that the immersive sector, like much of the theatre industry, suffers from a lack of diversity, with emerging Migrant and Global Majority creatives significantly underrepresented. 90% of theatre workers are white (ACE NPO survey). A Migrants in Theatre survey found a similar gap: while 16% of the UK population are migrants (37% in London), 86% of first-generation migrant artists reported that their status had negatively affected their opportunities.

The lab was created to support migrant and Global Majority artists at the foundation of their practice, giving them space to share and test new ideas, and, crucially, opportunities to fail. Making immersive and interactive performance is resource-intensive: it requires time and space to playtest ideas in front of an audience, and many adjustments before it is ready to launch. Many artists from marginalised backgrounds rarely get this opportunity. We aim to create a diverse supportive network of artists interested in political and socially-engaged immersive practice, give them opportunities to connect and shake up what immersive theatre is and who it is for.

We really love having you in our building! What is your favourite part of Shoreditch Town Hall?

We absolutely adore the Shoreditch Town Hall building! As creatives interested in site specific work the building itself has so many gorgeous varied playful spaces: we are particularly excited to do our public sharings in every nook of The Ditch, exploring its different spaces and atmospheres. The social and political history of the venue – which still resonates with its current programming – also strongly resonates with Koro’s ethos.

But what’s even better than the building is Shoreditch Town Hall’s team: a bunch of creative, warm and supportive top humans, who allow us to dream up big ideas and bring them to life. Thank you!

For more info about the Koro Lab artists and their projects, head to Koro’s website here.