Immersion is a multi-sensory performance created through a collaborative residency with the Able Orchestra, Sinfonia Viva, and Portland College.

Inspired by the monumental Papplewick Pumping Station — a Victorian-era marvel of steam-powered engineering — the piece transforms the raw, mechanical energy of the pumping station into an immersive, live performance environment that captures the rhythm and intensity of this historic site.

Rebecca was invited to Papplewick on a “steaming day,” where she witnessed the intricate machinery roaring to life. During this visit, she collected field recordings and visual elements, capturing the station’s unique atmosphere and mechanical sounds as source material.

Back in the performance space, these recordings became the foundation for a collaborative, interactive experience with the orchestra, incorporating real-time control and live triggers using Control One MIDI controllers.

Set within a 10-meter LED array encircling a 360-degree stage, performers took their places at opposite ends, embodying the dual forces of Papplewick’s powerful push-pull mechanism. Lighting design drew directly from the pumping station’s colossal machinery, with sweeping movements of light and sound reflecting the pulsing motion of the pumps. This back-and-forth interplay visually and sonically connected the two groups of performers, creating a dynamic flow of light and music that immersed the audience in the essence of the station’s industrial rhythm.

To complete the piece, Immersion returned to Papplewick’s underground reservoir, where it was filmed in the vast, echoing depths of the empty reservoir chamber — a space once filled with water, now a haunting setting for this tribute to the station’s magnitude and importance. Here, the immersive performance echoed within the underground expanse, encapsulating the presence and power of Papplewick’s engineering heritage in a striking, atmospheric conclusion.