AI Voices Bring Bold New Theatre Experience to London
Cold Sweat combines AI-generated voices, live actors and inventive storytelling in a distinctive London theatre production from Forced Entertainment.
Artificial intelligence is helping bring an inventive new theatre experience to London this October, as acclaimed Sheffield-based company Forced Entertainment combines AI-generated voices with live performance, physical comedy and experimental storytelling.
Cold Sweat arrives at the Southbank Centre's Purcell Room on 9 and 10 October, offering audiences an imaginative exploration of what happens when human performers interact with voices created by technology.
Created by a company with more than 40 years of experience pushing theatrical boundaries, the production brings together original writing, music and movement in a performance that blends humour, emotion and unexpected moments.
How Cold Sweat brings AI and live theatre together
Directed by Forced Entertainment's artistic director Tim Etchells, Cold Sweat features performers Richard Lowdon, Claire Marshall and Terry O'Connor.
Rather than using AI to replace actors, the company incorporates synthetic voices into a performance driven by human creativity. The actors respond physically to generated dialogue, using movement, expression and carefully timed lip-syncing to bring the unusual voices to life.
Music loops and fragmented conversations help create a world in which characters attempt to express their dreams, desires and uncertainties. Some exchanges resemble scenes from a television soap, with emotional declarations, misunderstandings and dramatic conversations taking unexpected directions.
The result is an inventive combination of familiar storytelling techniques and experimental performance.
A fresh approach to AI in entertainment
What makes Cold Sweat particularly interesting is its creative use of artificial intelligence. Rather than relying on digital characters or generated visuals, the production places the performers firmly at the centre of the experience.
The technology becomes another artistic tool, allowing the company to explore different rhythms, voices and ways of presenting dialogue.
The performance builds on techniques previously explored in Forced Entertainment's 2024 production Signal to Noise, which also experimented with the relationship between synthetic voices and physical movement.
Cold Sweat premiered in France in November 2025 and has since continued its international journey, demonstrating how established theatre companies are finding imaginative ways to incorporate emerging technology into their work.
Where can audiences see Cold Sweat?
Cold Sweat is being performed at London's Southbank Centre on 9 and 10 October 2026, with another performance scheduled at Lancaster Arts on 14 October.
The show runs for approximately 90 minutes and is recommended for audiences aged 15 and over. A post-show discussion is also scheduled following the Friday performance in London.
For those interested in discovering more about the production, its creative team and upcoming performances, further information is available through the Forced Entertainment website.
Image credit: Forced Entertainment / Cold Sweat.
