THURSDAY/EARLY SHIFT
THURSDAY/EARLY SHIFT
THURSDAY/EARLY SHIFT
Performances, demonstrations, conversations. An afternoon of innovation and investigation in the world of AI.

An afternoon of exciting presentations and performances from leading innovators in the world of AI. Featuring Yaboi Hanoi, Stephanie Dinkins, George Lewis + Juliet Fraser and more.
An afternoon of exciting presentations and performances from leading innovators in the world of AI. Featuring Yaboi Hanoi, Stephanie Dinkins, George Lewis + Juliet Fraser and more.
Tim and Sarah Bunting
THURSDAY/EARLY SHIFT
yaboihanoi / AI Music and Dance Drama
yaboihanoi uses AI technology to revision and re-imagine classical Thai opera.
This multi-modal experience reimagines Nang Yai, the classical Thai artform blending masterful dance, puppetry, music and poetry into one operatic experience. With modern electronic music and live projection, movements and motions from Thai classical dance form the bedrock of the performance’s visual experience. Through visual effects and data extracted and manipulated through AI/ML algorithms, the projections are an exploration of Thai choreography through the lens of technology.
Stephanie Dinkins / Cosmologies from the Bay
Stephanie Dinkins invites us to question who gets to shape the future of AI, exploring AI and voice.
Cosmologies from the Bay is a voice-led performance and installation that transforms community-shared cosmologies gathered from Black communities in the Bay Area, California. Born from conversations with Black communities in the Bay Area, these cosmologies arrive as plural 'constellations' of ancestral knowing, everyday ritual, and coded entanglements.
George Lewis + Juliet Fraser / Interactive Arias (2026)
George Lewis is an internationally renowned pioneer of using AI in composition.
This is an interactive performance performed by soprano Juliet Fraser in real-time sonic collaboration with the new SoVo system, created by internationally renowned composer, improviser, musicologist and pioneer in electronic and computer music, George Lewis, together with his team at Columbia University and a team of IRCAM researchers. Developed at IRCAM for this premiere performance created for RBO/SHIFT.
Background
The Royal Opera’s Associate Director Netia Jones curates a four-day festival exploring the shifting boundary between opera and technology. The focus for the first festival is the ever-growing world of artificial intelligence. What can AI offer creatives? And what can creatives offer the world in the age of AI?
Events for this inaugural festival include four EARLY SHIFT/LATE SHIFT sessions featuring performances and presentations from a diverse range of practitioners, the SHIFT EXCHANGE, a day of conversation with leading AI thinkers, and PLAY SHIFT, a relaxed day for all that encourages immersion and interaction. Alongside the four festival days, the Linbury Foyer will be open daily and free to the public and will feature exciting exhibitions and displays offering further interactive exploration.
Featured artists include legendary American experimental composer and improvisor George E. Lewis with soprano Juliet Fraser, Alexander Whitley Dance Company, vocal artist and AI innovator Harry Yeff (Reeps100) with soprano Patricia Auchterlonie, experimental composer Jennifer Walshe with vocal ensemble EXAUDI and AI sound artists Dadabots, composer Paola Prestini, AI sound artist and research scientist Yaboi Hanoi and transdisciplinary artist Stephanie Dinkins and many more.
You do not need to remain seated throughout this event. Your ticket grants entry throughout your 4-hour session; join at whatever point and leave when you wish.
Performers and programme subject to change.
Industry freelancers can access £20 tickets for SHIFT performances on Thursday and Saturday. To receive the discount code, please email boxoffice@roh.org.uk
Get tickets for Thursday EARLY and LATE SHIFT at a discounted rate when purchased together.
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Access
For step free-access and wheelchair spaces in the Linbury Theatre, you will need to book seats on the right-hand side of the auditorium. There is an assistive listening system available. Join our Access Scheme for priority access to tickets and to inform of your access requirements. See our Accessibility page for more information or view a visitors guide (PDF, 12.0 MB).

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