Science fiction is usually broadly defined in fringe festivals including spectulative fiction and fantasy often in the form of alternative worlds and alternative versions of the future, often in which one form of technology (such as artificial intelligence) has come to dominate our world. For kids shows it is usually about robots and space ships, for adult shows it often includes dystopian and even apocalyptic visions of the future. But let’s be clear – at the fringe, science fiction is usually more fiction and science. In true fringe spirit, plenty of liberties are taken with classic definitions of the genre.
I like the variety in the scifi category at the fringe. Here are a few recommendations…
First off is Alone from Glow House Ltd and Dusty Room Productions, billed as a multi award-winning New Zealand sci-fi drama about feminism, climate change and David Bowie”. Here’s the lowdown: “In the deep reaches of space, two scientists have made a potentially monumental discovery, but will they be able to make it count? Will their faith in science or an almighty allow them to hold the ship together long enough to bring this seed of life back to a dying planet?”
Death Ingloria II: Death By Admin is “story of a lonely and disconnected young office worker who, through a series of minor admin errors, quite accidentally destroys the entire world. An animated rock opera about the end of humanity. Death Ingloria is a one-woman (Galina Rin) progressive rock band from London, UK creating music, sci-fi comics and animations about the end of humanity. Death Ingloria animates their own comic books into the band’s music videos which play out live on stage during their anime epic stage shows.”
Highly reiewed Distant Memories of the Near Future features a unique performance generated by AI. “Welcome to the (near) future. Enter a world where romance has been “solved” by algorithms and Artificial Intelligence is commonplace. Enjoy five overlapping narratives, from space miners to tech moguls, that weave together into a show that explores relationships; with technology, with creativity, and with ourselves”.
Making History by Stephen Fry is a first ever stage adapatation of this lesser known novel. “Michael Young is a brilliant young history student whose life is changed when he meets Leo Zuckermann, an ageing physicist with a theory that can change worlds. Together they realise that they have the power to alter history and eradicate a great evil. But tinkering with timelines is more dangerous than they can imagine, and nothing – past, present or future – will ever be the same again.”
The experimental Aionos at Zoo Playground is an “African-Futurist mixed-reality production”. In this immersive piece “Ancient Egypt meets Star Wars as you travel virtual worlds to help an Egyptian queen heal a broken love and navigate spacetime to recover an ancient technology. This unique hybrid theatrical experience in VR, streaming, and in-person will take you across time, space, and the metaverse in a collaboration between Toasterlab, Debbie Deer Productions, and Immersive actor/director/designer Ari Tarr. Aionos brings live and remote actors and audiences together for an unforgettable adventure in a companion piece to Debbie Deer’s Nefertiti: The One Who Comes.”
In futuristic drama Conversations We Never Had, as People We’ll Never Be, the question “Have you ever wondered what your life would look like without the memory of the person who changed the way you see the world?” is posed. Some fasscinating themes are then explored: ” In the depths of heartbreak, Gina takes a pill that she bought online which claims to help you “erase” someone from your life. Upon consuming the pill, Gina and Felix are given thirty minutes to decide whether or not to erase their relationship from their memories, forever.”
For some dark scifi comedy, try Soul Mate. “A newlywed, early twentysomething couple (Ruby and Nathan) return home from their traumatic honeymoon. In the world of the newly privatized NHS, being “Transferred” is the modern way of cheating death. Following an accident abroad Ruby struggles to settle into newlywed life in a body that is not her own. Nathan’s struggle with achieving normality and maintaining his marriage drives him to spend long hours at the office. There he befriends a young cleaner, Becky, who has had multiple successful Transferences. What part of you makes you who you are?”
For some more sci-fi comedy, check out The Baron and the Junk Dealer. “From the creators of The George Lucas Talk Show, an original play about two fugitives – a mysterious aristocrat and a paranoid junk merchant – stranded on a desolate planet, waiting to be rescued or killed. Starring Griffin Newman (The Tick, Blank Check podcast) and Connor Ratliff (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Dead Eyes podcast), it could best be described as ‘Waiting For Godot in space’, ‘True West, but in another galaxy’ and ‘Hamlet, but there’s two of them, one of whom is Lear’.”
Compendium of Materia Medica is a fasmily-friendly sci-fi musical “inspired by the Compendium of Materia Medica, the most complete and comprehensive medical book in the history of traditional Chinese medicine, compiled and written by Li Shizhen from the Ming Dynasty. Set in 2046, when a popular VR game is designed to train people how to deal with emergencies. In this one game, a pandemic of emotions breaks out; people are getting sick, and the players are sent back to the time of Li Shizhen to witness how the Compendium of Materia Medica comes to life.”
For some sci-fi music-video rock, how about Death Ingloria II: Death By Admin which is “the story of a lonely and disconnected young office worker who, through a series of minor admin errors, quite accidentally destroys the entire world. An animated rock opera about the end of humanity. Death Ingloria is a one-woman (Galina Rin) progressive rock band from London, UK creating music, sci-fi comics and animations about the end of humanity. Death Ingloria animates their own comic books into the band’s music videos which play out live on stage during their anime epic stage shows.
Fans of Frank Herbert’s scifi saga will want to risk Dune! The Musical in PBH’s free fringe. “A memoir in song by the Earl of Caladan, trusted adviser to the Padisha Emperor and beloved troubadour-warrior, the bard Gurney Halleck. Following the success of his work on A Child’s History of Muad’Dib Gurney will perform hits from his back catalogue and introduce never-before-heard songs from his time among the Fremen. Sing along with little Paul Atreides on his journey to Sietch Tabr; can he tame the worm, save the world and get the girl? Forget everything you know about Arrakis and get ready for Dune! The Musical.”
For some new writing, The Feed, written by Cliff Thompson and Brandyn Graves covers pandemic territory. “Log into The Feed! Created by Freed-Hardeman University in Tennessee, The Feed began in 2021 as a series of quirky Facebook posts about a crockpot that mysteriously appeared in a college campus parking lot. Posted during the worst of the Covid lockdowns, the crockpot posts garnered thousands of views and responses. The on-stage version was crafted by students and faculty into a dark comedy that merges meme culture and eldritch horror. Doom scrolls into a story about forces beyond our control”
Fans of steampunk will need to book for the family-friendly The Further Misadventures of Martin Hathaway: Shipwrecked Off Heramathea’s Cove “In this steampunk fantasy adventure, the hapless history teacher who fell from our universe into Arnica has survived banshees, elves, and a giant ruhk to join the eccentric crew of the Airship Nephthys. Martin now struggles to find his place with Captain Daisy Fitzgerald McNamara and his chosen family. But Daisy is hiding the true nature of their latest mission when they become shipwrecked on an uncharted island. Can the crew find the strength to band together and overcome the impossible before they are beset by mermaids? More info here. And for some more family-friendly sci-fi adventure check out Photon StarBlaster and the Suicidal Spaceship.
There is spoken word scifi at Greenside with The Lifespan Tour. With ” humour and poetic wit from Sarah de Nordwall and the Company of Bards”… we are invited to ask “What if you could experience absolutely anything except who you really were? ‘Welcome to the only travel shop, offering you an all-inclusive to every time and space in the known universe. We’re a pleasure to do business with.’ Meet Robotica, discover why the universe was not at home, and swim in a Falling Star Cave. But have the Game Masters made a terrible oversight? This tour has not been filtered and customers are at risk of experiencing dangerously high levels of consciousness.”
Immersice science fiction can be experienced at Assembly Checkpoint in Tomorrow’s Child. This is “an immersive, multi-layered sonic adventure based on Ray Bradbury’s compelling sci-fi short story. In the imagined retro-future of 1988, new parents Polly and Peter confront the reality that their baby has been born into an alternate dimension”
That’s it for now. We’ll add a few more choices as we encounter them!
