Shut your eyes. Picture your favourite place in the world. The place that brings you joy. The place you could live forever if you had to.

The first thing to know – the thing you really need to know – is that you can have that.

If you want it.

Now let me tell you something else…

Nestled in a bay, surrounded by soaring mountains, stands the city of Omelas: a thriving metropolis in which citizens live lives of uninhibited happiness, safety, equality and prosperity. Into this utopia comes a young girl, in flight from her ruined home. In Omelas she is offered serenity and joy beyond what she had once thought possible.

But Omelas’s happiness comes at a price, and as the nature of the city’s bargain becomes clearer, the limits of joy and moral sacrifice are tested.

Based on the Hugo Award winning short story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula Le Guin, Omelas is an exploration of the nature of cruelty, and what we are willing to forfeit in order to be free of it.

Credits:
Writer and Director: James Christensen
Performers and Co-Creators: Georgia Andrews, Rachel Copel, Katerina Ntroudi, Andy Owen Cook, Sophia Utria, Cheang Jun Xian (Aaron)
Scenographer: Cheng Keng
Costume Creation: Catherine Christensen
Music and Sound Design: Liam Bellman-Sharpe, featuring Music by Holly Herndon
Movement Director: Benjamin Peterson
Producer and Dramaturg: Sarah Allen

This production is deeply indebted to the work of Rakhee Sharma, Octavia Fox, and Manda Jønsson, whose contribution to the initial workshopping of the piece was integral to the creation of the work. All our thanks.

With special thanks to Robert Icke, Nohar Lazarovich, Hannah Ringham, Paul Rae, Peter Sau, family far away, family a little closer, Matthew and Kelly, Daniel, German, and Magda, Guinevere, Allia, Arya, and Eris.

Gratitude also to Colab Theatre, whose generous donation of rehearsal space was indispensable in the early stages of our development.

Kindly supported by Reema Physio & Wellness and her studio space in Cricklewood, North West London. For more information on hire or health, visit rpwhealth.com.