Deceleration by ZU-UK
An experiment in slowing down.
Join us for a unique and immersive, outdoor walking experience that offers you an opportunity to slow down.
In our world of rapid communication and travel, the ability to slow ourselves down and decelerate is more important than ever.
Deceleration is an audio experience through a structured interaction with rhythm and environment. You are invited to put on headphones and are directed through an audio-led journey that will help you engage with your environment, making sense of rhythm in the world at large and offers you a chance to slow down. An exploration of the embodied process of slowing down.
This artwork exemplifies ZU-UK’s innovative approach to interactive theatre and digital arts, blending performance with personal exploration to foster social impact and change.
- Duration/Running time: 30 mins
- Age suitability: 16 +
- Important information: Please bring your smartphone and headphones with you. If you do not have a smartphone or headphones we can provide one for you.
- Dress: This is an outdoor walking experience, therefore it is advisable to dress appropriately for the weather.
- Access: This is an audio-based walking piece. The piece is accessible to wheelchair users.
ZU-UK is a multi award-winning disabled-led independent theatre and digital arts company, with over two decades of expertise in creating immersive, interactive experiences using games, performance and technology.
Led by Persis-Jadé Maravala and Jorge Lopes Ramos, ZU-UK projects focus on mental health, empathy, social impact and slowing down as an intersection between mental wellbeing and climate change.
ZU-UK's pioneering and multi-award winning work spans multiple art forms, disciplines, formats and spaces to address issues of social justice, mental health and climate emergency. From ringing all UK phone-boxes simultaneously in response to suicide rates to recruiting ghost-hunters in shopping-malls to investigate human rights and climate in supply chains.
ZU-UK projects focus on mental health, empathy, social impact and slowing down as an intersection between mental wellbeing and climate change. In a world where mainstream narratives normalise hate and fear, and where contemporary loneliness is a new epidemic, Persis-Jadé and Jorge believe in the need for shared rituals, new narratives and experiences that empower those most vulnerable to have a voice and participate in a live culture.
We believe in the transformative power of collaborative human experience, and provide tailor-made experiences that create alternative realities.
ZU-UK’s artworks are part of a wider research in arts and health SIMFONIK, exploring the potential of empathy and touch in therapeutic and healthcare training settings in collaboration with the University of Greenwich’s Learning & Simulation Centre (GLASC).
ZU-UK has been cited as an inspiring example by at the National Creative Ageing Conference in 2023 and used as a case study in the Prime Minister's Council for Science & Technology for its innovations and ambitions in the field of science and technology.
“ZU-UK… have carved out a reputation for producing bold, playful, participatory projects”
Time Out ★★★★
"You’ll emerge calm, rested and perhaps with a sense of wonder, feeling you might have glimpsed something profound"
The Reviews Hub ★★★★★ (Within Touching Distance)
‘Feels like an act of resistance”
The Guardian ★★★★
AWARDS
- Innovation Award -The Stage 2024
- Sound Design Award - Offies 2024
- Unlimited International Partner Award 2023
- Special Mention at Sheffield DocFest 2023
- Lumen Prize Winner 2022