Feel Me review – innovative show puts audience empathy to the test

Stephen Joseph theatre, Scarborough
The Paper Birds' new touring production explores forced displacement through physical theatre, interactivity and multimedia

What does the rest of the audience make of the show you're watching? Beyond the odd gasp or laugh it can be hard to tell but this audacious, tech-savvy production by devised theatre company The Paper Birds repeatedly measures its impact. We use our phones throughout and, when prompted, select from a number of responses about how the scenes make us feel.

It's a test of empathy and, initially, preconceptions. This is a tale of forced displacement, we are told. Where might the story be set, why has the character left home and how old are they? The screens on stage, within a temporary shelter designed by Imogen Melhuish, reveal our range of assumptions. A later series of skits will suggest how they have been influenced by the media.

At Stephen Joseph theatre, Scarborough, on 28 February. Then touring until 1 May.