Inside the World of VR Theatre – Marinda Botha’s Story of Immersive Art and Innovation

How one performer’s journey from puppets and voice acting to global VR stages reveals the untapped creative power and challenges of South African immersive storytelling.

This episode features South-African performer Marinda Botha, who walks listeners through her journey from traditional theatre, puppetry, and voice acting to immersive, VR-based theatre and storytelling.

She describes how VR theatre works: performances like Alien Rescue run live in virtual spaces (e.g. on platforms like Resonite / VRChat), blending motion capture, voice acting, and interactive world-building to create immersive experiences that transcend physical boundaries.

The conversation covers both creative and technical challenges: how to script, build worlds, block motion-capture performances, and manage audience immersion; but also why VR theatre matters — offering accessibility, global reach, and a new space for African stories and expression.

Marinda argues VR theatre doesn’t replace live stage theatre — instead, they can coexist. VR adds new dimensions: interactive storytelling, global audience access, and the potential to preserve performances in ways live theatre can’t.

Finally, she reflects on what creators in Africa face: limited infrastructure, access to VR hardware, funding constraints — but also the creative freedom and opportunity to build something original. For African artists, VR theatre offers a way to reach global audiences without leaving home.