Go on an epic virtual reality adventure into the euphoria of a 1989 Acid House rave.
The World Premiere of a new multiplayer version of In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats, from East City Films, is coming to the Barbican for a 74-day run this summer. The new version of the internationally acclaimed, award winning interactive VR adventure, which takes audiences back in time to the beginning of the Acid House movement and the creation of UK rave culture is presented for the first time as a shared communal experience for groups of up to four people.
The World Premiere of this new iteration will take place in The Pit from 22 May to 3 August 2025 as part of the Barbican’s summer programme of events, celebrating music and sound which includes Feel the Sound, a bold new multi-sensory exhibition experience that explores our personal relationship to sound and embraces a world of listening that goes beyond the audio.
Since its initial premiere in 2022, In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats has delighted and unified audiences globally with its nostalgic immersive adventure of finding an Acid House rave in 1989. With the World Premiere of this new version at the Barbican in summer 2025, East City Films pushes the technology even further to allow people to experience the story together in the same virtual space. They can interact together, pass objects to each other, discover the rave together and dance together on a euphoric journey into the heart of a music revolution. Previously this was a singular immersive journey for one audience member to have on their own in a room with other people having that solo experience. Now audiences can share that journey in groups of four.
Following the Barbican run, the national tour will continue to Warwick Arts Centre in September and Wales Millennium Centre Cardiff in October.
The creative team behind ‘Beats' spent time making the experience fully accessible to wheelchair users with a seated version and d/Deaf audiences with subtitles, Haptics (vibration), Access Packs, VR Explainer and scene descriptions and Touch Tour.
Tickets for In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats as part of the Barbican’s summer programme will go on sale in the spring.
Watch the trailer: In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats (New Trailer)
The heart of this piece is nostalgia; it’s about bringing the past to life” - SKY NEWS
Listings
22 May to 3 August 2025
Barbican, The Pit – Summer programme
Silk St, City of London, London EC2Y 8DS
Further Information: In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats | Barbican