Commissioned by Derby Theatre
Performers: Karen Barredo & Joel Howard
Photography: Graeme Braidwood
Written by Ryan Leder
Co-created with Derby Cathedral School & Philippine Educational Theater Association
Performed by Karen Barredo & Joel Howard
Directed by Oliver O’Shea
Assistant Director: Norberto Portales
Produced by Stuart Allen (Derby Theatre)
Set & Costume Design by Laura Guthrie & Izzy Hollis
Sound Design by Amanda Priestly
Movement Direction by Ayesha Fazal
Stage Management by Daniel Ellis
Deputy Stage Management by Bee Winchester & Sophie Mills
Facilitation & Outreach by Caroline Barth, Alex Wrampling & Vitalis Waweru
“We were 10 when they told us. They said that a long time ago, people built these computers – big enough that humans could live inside of them. “And that’s where we live”, they said. “In the Metaverse”“.
In the not-too-distant future, a tech-billionaire builds the world’s first functioning Metaverse. With concerns rising over Earth’s sustainability, more and more people start integrating their lives into this fully digital world, which is protected by an automated border called ‘The Firewall’.
When humanity holds a referendum to seal the Firewall – cutting humanity’s ties with the ‘old world’ permanently – 17-year-old Ren and Thea find themselves without a vote and without a voice in their own futures. However, the roles are reversed when the Metaverse crashes and Ren, a Firewall technician, and Thea, an anti-Metaverse activist, are the only people left to save it.
As they venture through a glitched and broken landscape, Ren and Thea must navigate their personal and political differences and decide whether to reboot the system or shut it down for good.
Firewall is a new play written in conversation with Year 9 Derby students and university students living in the Philippines. Over an action-packed 50 minutes, audiences explored humanity’s relationship to technology and its disregard for the voice of its next generation, all whilst asking what it really means to be human.
Performances:
October 19th, 2024 – Derby Theatre, Derby, UK
October 21st – October 25th, 2024 – Schools Tour (Various), UK
November 3rd – November 4th, 2024 – Coliseu Porto Ageas, Porto, Portugal