by Ed Fortune
Ray Bradbury is broadly regarded as one of the most influential science fiction writers of the 20th century. His work has been adapted many, many times, and his core ideas have stood the test of time. This is impressive when you consider that much of his work is over 70 years old.
Tomorrow’s Child can be best described as weird fiction. It’s set in the futuristic world of 1988 (the story was published in 1948), and incredibly safe and advanced machines now deliver babies. Unfortunately for expectant parents Polly and Peter, their child, though perfectly healthy, was born into another dimension, which means they look strange to anyone in our dimension. The story tracks Polly and Peter’s struggles as they try and raise this strange looking being, which they name Py. Despite the weird premise, it’s intensely personal at times. As you can expect, a story like this is pretty difficult to adapt to the stage.
Ghost River Theatre’s solution is to turn the story into a soundscape experience. When you arrive at the performance, attendants in lab coats ask you to wear a blindfold and then carefully lead you to your seat. There is a critical point during the performance when you are meant to remove the blindfold. Safety is paramount, but you do need the blindfold to enjoy the show properly.
The performance is essentially an incredibly elaborate audio drama. A lot of clever technical audio work has gone into producing a dense and multi-layered experience, but this is mostly an audio-only experience. However, combined with the way it’s staged, this really works.
It’s a strange and slightly uncomfortable story, and because you have to sit and listen, you become very focused on the narrative and its outcome.
Tomorrow’s Child is a weird story told in an unusual way. This format modernises the story without actually making any changes, and the tale is as relevant (and as strange) today as it was back in the 1940s. A unique theatre experience and a delight for fans of retro science fiction.
Tomorrow’s Child runs at the Edinburgh Fringe until the 28th of August, 2023. You can find out more about Ghost River Theatre here.
