How does immersive theater influence the audience's cognition? (Based on the example of "Only Henan – The City of Theatrical Fantasies")

Immersive theater from the 1970s to the 1990s was directly influenced by the practices of contemporary Western theater. Its main feature lies in altering the original relationships between the audience and the stage action through modern technological means. On a physical level, this creates a theatrical space for the audience to immerse themselves in, while on a cognitive level, it disrupts the order of everyday life for viewers, giving theatrical reality a different meaning and creating a unique aesthetic experience. An example examined in this article is the giant immersive theater complex "Only Henan – City of Theatrical Fantasies," where the author attempts to answer the following questions: how does immersive theater engage the audience in theatrical action by creating situational space? How is the cognitive schema formed by immersive theater reconstructed in the daily life of the viewer and ultimately influences their relationship to reality? Using methods from cognitive sciences and phenomenological philosophy, the author analyzes examples that emerge in specific theatrical productions. The novelty of this research lies in the fact that in recent years, contemporary Chinese theater has developed and absorbed the rich experience of foreign theatrical theory, leading to the emergence of several innovative theatrical practices in the field of theatrical aesthetics. These practices, which combine the theory of immersive theater with new technologies and incorporate local traditional culture, represent an aesthetic expression distinct from Western theater, contributing to the development of theater theory. The aim of this article is to supplement and discuss this area of research, which is still in its infancy in the Russian academic environment. The article concludes that "Only Henan – City of Theatrical Fantasies" attempts to break the boundaries between traditional theater and real life by constructing situational space and addressing collective memory. Unlike commercial immersive theater, this practice additionally influences the audience's perception at a cultural level and positively impacts the development of immersive theater.