This blends a nostalgic and queered vision of science fiction with body horror.
Elastic Fantastic will bring their Trans Sci-Fi Body Horror Play Shallowspace to SPRINT Festival at Camden People's Theatre for March 2026.
Blending a nostalgic and queered vision of science fiction with body horror, Callie O'Brien's script explores a visceral depiction of the trans lived experience, brimming with yearning, spite, and a sea of ethereal sensation.
Callie plays August, the lone passenger aboard a starship called the Theseus, with the mission of protecting a deep space archive of digitalised civilisation. As the continued effects of cryogenic stasis, isolation, and endless routine take their toll, the show delves into the depths of August's psyche as she wonders what became of her home, explores a twisting forest of frozen dreams, and asks the question: why do her limbs feel wrong?
An original synth-wave soundtrack from composer Ronan Goron pulses around projected visuals, voiceovers and soundscapes evoking cold steel, icy mist, and blinking lights. The piece conjures fizzing data on your tongue, pulsing synths in your ears, and coolant in your veins. An array of queer creatives provide audio that becomes ‘the voice of humanity', while Ally Haughey plays the artificially intelligent voice of the ship in pre-recorded voiceover, interacting with and instructing August as she navigates a past that somehow isn't quite her own.
Elastic Fantastic are based UK-wide, with bases in Edinburgh, Leeds, and Bristol. Shallowspace has toured Scotland at Edinburgh Festival Fringe and now arrives for its London debut as part of SPRINT Festival at Camden People's Theatre.
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