work.txt (a play without actors), text for brochure (246 words)
“…it shows what’s magical about the theatrical experience, which is how live it is and how it can’t be substituted for anything else.”

This is a show about work. But the worker isn’t here, so it’s down to you. You’ll clock in at the beginning. You’ll get short breaks at regular intervals. You’ll work in a team, and under your
own initiative. You will be your own boss. You will be free. This is a show about the gig economy, financial instability and bullshit jobs.

Work.txt, written and directed by Nathan Ellis, takes place over the course of a work day, at the start of which one employee inexplicably stops working. The consequences of this strange event
unfold throughout the show — performed entirely by its audience. Described by critics as “haunting” and “quietly apocalyptic,” this immersive performance takes debates about the modern workplace to their extremes.

The play is produced by SUBJECT, a theatre company run by writer-director Nathan Ellis and producer Eve Allin, based in the east-midlands. SUBJECT makes theatrical work about digital worlds, using interactive audience relationships to explore the way we live now.

Ellis made his playwriting debut in 2019 with No One is Coming to Save You, followed by the 2020 play Super High Resolution, both of which were shortlisted for multiple awards and showcased internationally. He is a current member of the Channel 4 Screenwriting group and a Creative Associate of the Nottingham Playhouse.

After stunning audiences at the SOHO theatre in London in March 2022, work.txt will make its Arab World premiere as part of the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF).

Writer and Director: Nathan Ellis
Producer: Eve Allin and Emily Davis
Technical Production Manager: Harry Halliday
Lighting Designer: Danny Vavrećka
Music and Sound Design: Tom Foskett-Barnes

Entry instructions:
 No smoking is allowed.
 No food or drinks of any kind are allowed.
 The place is not responsible for the loss of any kind of personal belongings.
Entry is free and is on a first-come, first-served basis.