Future Projects

Daedalus Theatre Company is at the early stage of developing two new projects, both socially engaged and research-led but otherwise very different in content and form.

The Balkan Project (working title) is, along with A Place at the Table, part of our ambitious, internationalist project, provisionally entitled People, Stories, People, which aims to explore issues around conflict and narrative through a long-term programme of intergrated workshops and performances.

It will take its form from two strands of developmental research. We will research into the recent history and the historic context of the countries of south-eastern Europe that made up the former Yugoslavia. In parallel with this, we will research peace and non-violence; asking what contributes to peace, what damages it, what leads to war, what meanings 'peace' has and how those meanings are connected, and what roles an individual can take in support of it.

Continuing our research in these two areas, we will start to make a piece of theatre, the form of which will become apparent through the research, workshop and rehearsal periods. The heart of this project is Daedalus’s belief that the truth lies in embracing and respecting the many different versions of events. A possible starting point is to work in a lecture theatre. There is likely to be some film footage. We’ll certainly be looking at some maps. And we’ll be searching our hearts too.

The History Project (working title) uses its audience to re-enact radical British history to a background of folk music and protest songs. Led by a small group of actor-musicians, it traces unrest and popular uprisings from the Peasants’ Revolt and the Diggers movement to the Suffragettes and the Poll Tax riots, eventually arriving in the present day with an attempt to stage a contemporary protest. Expanding on Daedalus’s innovative approach to verbatim, it will use the texts of historical speeches and be developed in collaboration with current and veteran campaigners. Designed to provide a stirring, lively yet thought-provoking experience at large events and festivals or in an educational context.