The Amplitude is partly a lecture, partly a dance recital, partly spoken word poetry, and partly an interactive workshop which changes the way we understand sound. Created and performed by Gabriele Reuter and Mattef Kulmey, The Amplitude was presented at Burton Taylor Studio and will travel to Lincoln in October. Its key message is to draw our attention to the unspeakably large amount of energy and waves bouncing around our entire universe – forces we cannot perceive, but are present all the time in our daily lives.

Reuter presents talks about how sound works in an accessible and, at times, comedic way. There's a lot of audience interaction which makes the presentation engaging, avoiding the all-too-common snooze fest of secondary school physics classes. Visual animations, produced by Sophie Jahnke, add clarity to the concepts. And Reuter's use of short dances peppers The Amplitude, bringing a deeper meaning to the science. All around us there is energy organising itself into compositions and dances that we can't hear or see, but there's analogies in artistic expression. The Amplitude finds a way into the mysteries of our own universe through both the traditional mode of imparting information and the less traditional mode of feeling, moving, and creating.

The Amplitude is not always successful in terms of giving a comprehensible, whole account of sound and space. There were a few points, particularly about electromagnetic energy, where it felt like it would be helpful to bring up a Wikipedia page as a primer for the discussion. But realistically, given the team has under an hour to explain huge, complex topics, The Amplitude is an excellent introduction for curious people. It's an enthusiastic start to learning about our strange, physical world. Obviously the audience won't be awarded with a PhD in physics at the end, but they do get something valuable, which is new, interesting information, and a great starting point to learning more.

The experimental, hybrid nature of The Amplitude also provides important lessons for educators. There are lots of ways to teach people about interesting but difficult concepts and, as the creators show, performance art – if executed with relatable explanations, practical experiments, and information targeted at multiple senses – is a wonderful tool.