The Shape of Things to Come 2024

The 2024 season of The Shape of Things to Come is a dynamic and imaginative program of new short performances commissioned by Volcano Theatre. This year’s series showcases original works by freelance theatre makers and performers from Wales and beyond, each offering a unique perspective on the future. These 30-minute performances explore diverse themes such as spaceships, drag, literature, queer identity, and the human relationship with nature. Despite the varied content, each piece is united by a shared vision: looking ahead to new possibilities and exploring alternative ways of living, being, and thinking about the world. Audiences can expect an exciting mix of storytelling, dance, and interactive elements in this innovative series, which aims to challenge conventions and expand the horizons of contemporary theatre.

Highlights of the Programme:

• Prologue: Once Upon a 2024 (April 18)
  Created by Marianne Tuckman in collaboration with BTEC students from Rubicon Dance, this immersive performance reimagines Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid as a tragic and exploitative love story between a merman and an estate agent. Set amidst a raging housing crisis, the show reflects on the hopes and anxieties of young people as they prepare to leave home for full-time dance training. The piece offers a danced reflection on youth, dreams, and the challenges of growing up during a cost-of-living crisis.

• Is That All There Is? (May 2–4)
  Created by Catherine Alexander, this performance blends theatre and conversation to explore our deepest hopes and dreams for the later stages of life. Drawing from her personal experience as a care worker during the pandemic, Catherine reflects on the emotional complexities of elderly care and the clarity she found in helping others. After stepping away from theatre due to chronic anxiety and endometriosis, Catherine returns with a performance that centers on compassion, humor, and the relationships she formed with vulnerable people in her care.

• Rituals of the Molikilikili (May 9–11)
  Created by Eric Ngalle Charles, this powerful piece delves into trauma, resilience, and the power of literature to heal. The performance weaves between languages, Bantu oral traditions, and folktales as it explores the metaphorical blindness that trauma can inflict. Eric, a Cameroonian writer, poet, playwright, and human rights activist based in Wales, uses this work to pose the question: Can blindness ever be a desired state? What must one see to wish to see no more?

• This Museum is a Spaceship (May 16–18)
  Christopher Elson transports audiences into the remnants of a forgotten museum, where dusty artifacts and antiquated technologies speak of unbelievable futures. Inspired by the visionary ideas of 19th-century Russian Cosmists, who dreamed of immortality and resurrection for all of humanity, this performance juxtaposes those radical utopian dreams with today’s tech-driven futurism. The piece critiques the billionaire futurists of Silicon Valley and offers an alternative vision of freedom, collective exploration, and cosmic possibilities.

• Perfect Places (May 23–24)
  In this intimate performance, Luke Hereford examines the search for belonging in queer spaces, reflecting on the chameleon-like adaptability required to fit in. As a male-presenting non-binary individual, Luke explores the pressures to conform to certain expectations in queer nightlife, often at the cost of personal identity. Through a mix of music, drag, dancing, and storytelling, the performance questions the nature of happiness and authenticity in spaces designed for community, yet filled with performative identities.

• Nythu (June 13–15)
  Elin Phillips offers a deeply personal Welsh-language performance inspired by her experience as a new mother and primary caregiver. Set against the backdrop of sleepless nights and overwhelming responsibilities, Nythu (meaning “Nesting”) captures the often chaotic and disorienting nature of motherhood. The performance blends storytelling with disco dancing, portraying the protagonist’s struggle to think of the future when the present is so all-consuming.

• SANC (June 13–15)
  Akeim Toussaint Buck, in collaboration with Yamina Lyara, presents SANC, a powerful performance that explores sanctuary, rebirth, and humanity’s relationship with nature. Through a blend of movement, voice, and physical expression, the piece reflects on the need to reconnect with nature in times of personal and collective crisis. Akeim, an interdisciplinary performer born in Jamaica and raised in England, uses this performance to address themes of freedom and resilience in the face of adversity. Yamina, a dance practitioner and birth doula, adds her expertise in storytelling and world-building to this evocative piece.

Akeim Toussaint Buck and Yamina Lyara will also lead a workshop on June 11. Open to all participants aged 18 and over, this creative session incorporated dance, voice, mindfulness, breath, and creative writing. It invited artists and individuals interested in the intersection of nature and body-based performance to explore their creativity.

Each performance in The Shape of Things to Come offers a unique opportunity to reflect on the future through the lens of art and storytelling. With thought-provoking themes and a range of creative forms, this series promises to inspire, challenge, and entertain its audience.