“Take hold of these knobs on the arms of your chair," whispered Lenina. "Otherwise, you won't get any of the feely effects." (Huxley, 1932) Watching and listening are no longer enough. As the crowds who flocked to ‘The Feelies’ in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World knew, the ultimate narrative experience involves all the senses in order to evoke the feeling of living viscerally within a story, rather than just to experience it vicariously. In the early years of the 21st century the immersive arts have grown to dominate the world of innovative arts and media. ‘Immersive’ has indeed become an umbrella term covering a whole range of cultural happenings that lean heavily on the promise of a multisensory narrative experience, frequently involving interactivity. Spear-heading the immersive revolution is the new technology of virtual and augmented reality, haptic interfaces, and binaural sound, that promise agency and multisensory experiences in fake ‘new worlds’ accessed through digital devices. This paper explores how the roots of contemporary multisensory storytelling are to be found, however, not in the developments of new technology, but in ancient narrative practices which predate, by millennia, the emergence of our dominant Western cultural traditions. Through investigating contemporary archaeology and anthropology, it explores how ancient storytelling practices were multi-sensory and interactive in the same way as emerging narrative techniques.

Authors:
Elizabeth Swift, University of Gloucestershire, United Kingdom

About the Presenter(s)
Elizabeth Swift is a writer& director of performance. She lectures at the University Gloucestershire, UK, and her research relates to the evolution of the audience. Her new book, Practical Spectating, will be published in 2026 by Palgrave. Macmillan

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-liz-swift/

Connect on ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elizabeth-Swift-3?ev=hdr_xprf

Additional website of interest
http://www.voidprojects.plus.com/

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