Affective Encounter: Repetition and Immersive Practices in Man of Valour

Drawing upon Deleuzian theory, this article examines the role of repetition and affect in theatre design and the immersive qualities these devices promote. Focusing on Corn Exchange’s show Man of Valour, I suggest that the repetition employed by the postdigital design and dramaturgy of the piece—voice and sound effects, stage and movement, makeup, the use of time and space—transform the performer and spectators into ‘bodies without organs’ (BwO). These BwOs, removed from their systems of organisation that order social space, such as language, time, and space, instead communicate through embodied, affective means. In the course of this article, I will demonstrate how this affective encounter, brought about by repetition, generates an immersive experience of the