Shallowspace – Elastic Fantastic / Camden People’s Theatre, London

With just one onstage performer and a great many ideas, Shallowspace proves that ambitious science-fiction theatre doesn’t need a blockbuster budget.

Shallowspace

I love small theatre productions with big ambitions. And what can be bigger than a timespan of thousands of years, an archive of humanity floating through space, pulled off with a single actor (and the voice of another), some sheeting, some lights, and a projector? Plus big ideas and a lot of creativity, of course.

The work I’m describing is Shallowspace, which I saw last night at Camden People’s Theatre. This is a great venue for exactly this kind of work. By that I don’t mean cryotech fever dreams (although those are clearly welcome), but inspiring, boundary-pushing theatre. Shallowspace is written and performed by Callie O’Brien. It tells the story of August, a “Shepherd” aboard the starship Theseus IV. Humanity, facing obliteration but still obsessed with legacy (yep, sounds about right), has sent out a dozen such ships. A Shepherd’s job is to maintain the vessel and protect its vast digital archive of civilisation so it can continue its mission. Or supposedly that’s what’s going on.

There’s a bit more to it than that, but I can’t go spoiling everything, now, can I? At its heart, Shallowspace is a dystopian sci-fi allegory for the trans experience: the struggle for bodily autonomy and respect, and the peace that comes when you’re simply allowed to be. Not that August gets many opportunities for that, aside from in snatched memories of dreams. Her descriptions of these dreams, particularly some striking imagery involving optic nerves, will stick with me. At one with nature, shall we say?

Conjuring a Futuristic World

I mentioned above how simple the staging is, but that simplicity is very effective. The show layers projections, lighting, sound, and voiceover to conjure a futuristic world of cold steel, flickering systems and strange internal landscapes. Ronan Goron’s pulsing synth soundtrack does a lot of atmospheric heavy lifting, while Ally Haughey voices the ship’s AI in pre-recorded dialogue that interacts with and guides August through her increasingly unstable reality.

I was writing earlier this week about giving an audience credit for understanding the point you’re making without spelling it out, and Shallowspace does that well. It builds an allegory for the trans experience that feels immediate and visceral without ever needing to lecture the audience about it. The dystopia, the violence, and the bodily unease at the centre of August’s story aren’t taken lightly, but the script also allows moments of humour and playfulness. That balance works well. It gives the audience space to breathe while still sitting with some genuinely unsettling ideas.

Shallowspace appeared as part of the SPRINT Festival at Camden People’s Theatre, which continues until 27 March. Do try to support the festival if you can, or keep an eye on theatre company Elastic Fantastic for (hopefully) more work like this.

Salterton Arts Review rating: 4/5

Shallowspace was on at Camden People’s Theatre on 13 March only. More information and tickets for SPRINT Festival here, and more information on Elastic Fantastic here.