Award-Winning Cinematic Theatre Piece THE DE NOVA SUPER Comes To The Edinburgh Fringe

The Earth is sick. The De Nova Super - now lost in space - was the last hope for finding a cure.

Powered by nuclear fusion and thus capable of travelling further than any man-made vessel had previously ventured, the Super's mission was crucial to the survival of life on our suffering planet, long since depleted of natural resources.

Lowly adventurers Special (Will Palmer) and Col (Alex Hughes) must seek the lost spacecraft and uncover the secrets buried deep with its ill-fated crew. Poisoned with dark secrets, is the De Nova Super a match for those who stumble across her? In order to understand her mysteries, the explorers must first understand themselves... for even they are not quite what they seem.

The lovingly crafted brainchild of theatre, clown, film and movement aficionados, The De Nova Super, is an original and visually stunning exploration of the future. It fuses the influences of its creators’ eclectic passions: from the choreography of Ryan Heffington (best known for Sia’s music videos), Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 A Space Odyssey, LCD Soundsystem, music from composer Isobel Waller-Bridge, David Bowie and Brian Eno, to - most notably - Andre Tarkovsky and Buster Keaton.

As cinematic as it is theatrical, The De Nova Super spans mediums and genres as irreverently as it leaps through space and time, teasing the boundaries between stage and screen. Delicately bringing the reality of a dystopian future to the forefront, the use of multimedia and a semi-immersive structure, serves to challenge the audience on both a sensory and emotional level. A tale full of twists and turns, audiences are compelled to hold a mirror up to their own choices and beliefs.

Aren't almost all of us complicit in our planet's demise? Aren't we choosing to be blind to the consequences of our actions? The De Nova Super is about last chances - the chances we often don't take, instead continuing to suffocate the earth and ourselves. A timely intervention (what with this year's Extinction Rebellion movement raising more attention than ever before to the existential threat of ecological crisis), ultimately it is a story of our relationship with the past and future, love, friendship, and what it means to be human in the face of developments of Artificial Intelligence.

The De Nova Super is the latest piece of work from A Brilliant Everything's Will Palmer and Alex Hughes. Early development was made possible by the backing of The Greenwich Dance agency and Paine's Plough. It was first presented as a work in progress at VAULT festival in 2018, where it won the Outstanding New Work Award.

Will Palmer is a graduate of The Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. He is a dancer, seasoned movement performer and director and puppeteer. He was Head Puppeteer for The National Theatre's production of War Horse. Alex Hughes is a Fine Art and Film graduate of Camberwell College of Art and Nottingham Trent University. A film, television and theatre actor, over the past three years he has been a central writer and performer on Secret Cinema's last seven productions. Recent television credits include Harley and the Davidsons, Elizabeth I and The Capture which will broadcast on the BBC this autumn.

The De Nova Super runs from 31st - 26th August (not 12th or 19th) at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. For tickets and more information: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/de-nova-super

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