2025 IC Award - Pioneer Shortlist
Narcosis，THEATRE
Playwright / Director: Yi Qu, Performer: Yin Yuhao （China）
Review
Narcosis stands out as a groundbreaking work that blurs the boundaries between theatre, cinema, and gaming. Inspired by the cult indie video game, it transforms the narrative of a deep-sea accident into a live, immersive theatrical language. Using real-time performance set against meticulously designed CG environments, the piece creates a visceral experience where audiences are submerged into the claustrophobia, fear, and surreal beauty of the ocean depths.
Its pioneering quality lies in the way it redefines stagecraft: merging gaming aesthetics, digital scenography, and embodied storytelling into a seamless form. More than spectacle, Narcosis is an exploration of isolation, trauma, and human fragility—universal themes given new resonance through technological experimentation. This hybrid form makes it not only a theatrical innovation but also a model for future cross-media performance. Bold, disorienting, and unforgettable, Narcosis epitomises what the Pioneer Award seeks to honour: fearless reimaginings of performance that open new frontiers.
Synopsis
Inspired by the award-winning indie video game, Narcosis is an experimental solo performance that plunges audiences into the psychological aftermath of a deep-sea accident. Blending live performance with cinematic CG environments, the piece creates a disorienting, immersive journey where memory, time, and perception fracture under pressure. Neither film nor conventional theatre, Narcosis exists in the in-between—haunting, atmospheric, and deeply affecting. It challenges audiences to confront fear, isolation, and the fragility of the human mind in the face of the unknown depths.
The Fahrenheit Alliance V，DANCE, PHYSICAL THEATRE & CIRCUS
Hirai-Kikaku and Media Kobo (Japan)
Review
The Fahrenheit Alliance V stands out as a pioneering work because it redefines theatre as an intimate act of transmission rather than spectacle. Inspired by Fahrenheit 451 and born out of the isolation of the pandemic, it transforms the “Bookmen’s” oral legacy into a deeply personal, one-to-one immersive experience. By inviting each audience member to lie in bed, cocooned in sound, whispers, and images, the work shifts theatre from a collective gaze to a tactile, embodied exchange. The most radical element is its cyclical structure: every participant becomes both receiver and transmitter, contributing their own voice and memory to an ever-expanding archive of human connection.
This is theatre not just watched, but lived, touched, and passed on — dissolving the wall between performer and audience, and between nations and generations. It is precisely this fusion of intimacy, innovation, and intercultural transmission that makes The Fahrenheit Alliance V a worthy nominee for the Pioneer Award.
Synopsis
From Japan’s Hirai-Kikaku and Media Kobo comes a unique one-to-one immersive experience inspired by Fahrenheit 451. Audience members lie in bed, wrapped in blankets, and enter a dreamlike journey through light, whispers, and distant visions. At the end, each participant leaves their own voice and image, becoming part of the performance and passing it on to the next. Blending personal experience with collective memory, this poetic and quietly powerful work invites reflection on connection, continuity, and human presence.
Cody and Beau: A Wild West Story，THEATRE
Dylan and Will Theatre （UK）
Review
Cody and Beau: A Wild West Story reimagines coming-of-age theatre through a vivid, genre-subverting lens. This two-hander tosses audiences into the vivid realm of 1889 Texas—right from the comfort of the bedroom—where childish cowboy fantasies collide with harsh realities.The dynamic performances of Dylan Kaeuper and Will Grice are the beating heart of the piece, with youthful exuberance and seamless physical storytelling that bring laughter, wonder, and emotional resonance to every moment.
What makes Cody and Beau truly pioneer worthy is how it layers immersive staging, physical theatre, and metatheatrical play to challenge conventional Western tropes—inviting audiences to critically engage with themes of masculinity, fantasy, and indoctrination. In blending role-play, comedy, and a broader interrogation of Western mythmaking, this debut stands out as both inventive and emotionally powerful—a bold theatrical statement and a deserving Pioneer Award nominee.
Synopsis
Cody and Beau have one thing on their mind: to become cowboys. When enthralled by extraordinary tales of Billy the Kid, the two plan to escape the security of their bedrooms and fulfil their outlawing destiny. But when the boys find themselves against the hostile backdrop of 1889 Texas, the imagined starts to become all a bit too real. From the Edinburgh-based creative team of Dylan and Will comes a vibrant, immersive coming-of-age tale, inspired by the lasting legacy of the Wild West.
The Covetousness，MUSICAL AND OPERA
Jingkun Chinese Arts (China)
Review
The Covetousness exemplifies why intercultural innovation and cultural preservation can coexist on the same stage. By reconstructing a nearly-lost scene from Tang Xianzu’s The Nanke Dream through surviving archival fragments, oral traditions, and ancient scores, the production revives endangered opera heritage with scholarly care and artistic vision. What makes it pioneering is the fusion of Kunqu and Peking Opera traditions with contemporary scenography, lighting, and dramaturgy, creating a bridge between classical aesthetics and modern performance practice.
It is rare to see a work that treats tradition with such fidelity while also reimagining it for global audiences. This balance allows The Covetousness to function as both cultural preservation and artistic innovation. In its blending of archival research, intercultural storytelling, and theatrical experimentation, the production sets a new standard for how traditional artforms can be made relevant, accessible, and resonant worldwide — a truly pioneering achievement.
Synopsis
An experimental Chinese opera performance fusing Kunqu, Peking Opera and contemporary theatre. Inspired by archival material from endangered opera works, the show reimagines a surreal court scene from Tang Xianzu’s The Nanke Dream – where female allure and political ambition spark disaster. Featuring stylised movement, traditional vocals and symbolic costume drawn from opera heritage, The Covetousness brings ancient Chinese aesthetics into dialogue with modern themes of desire, identity, and power. Presented in Mandarin with English surtitles. For audiences interested in intercultural performance and reimagined traditions.
Sole to Soul,DANCE, PHYSICAL THEATRE & CIRCUS
Takivan Damula Chuyouji, Wei-Wei Wu, and Chi-An Chen (Taiwan, China)
Review
Sole to Soul stands out as a pioneering work for its daring re-examination of one of the most controversial and symbolic practices in Chinese history—foot-binding. By fusing the codified gestures of traditional Chinese opera with the raw physicality of contemporary dance, the creators Takivan Damula Chuyouji, Wei-Wei Wu, and Chi-An Chen construct a movement language that is at once rooted in heritage and boldly experimental.
The piece reframes foot-binding not as a static relic but as a living metaphor for beauty, sacrifice, and constraint, offering Western audiences an embodied glimpse into a practice often oversimplified or exoticised. Its interdisciplinary approach—blending dance, theatre, visual imagery, and cultural anthropology—pushes boundaries of form while carrying deep cultural resonance.
This bold synthesis of tradition and innovation, combined with its ability to spark urgent conversations about gender, autonomy, and the politics of the body, exemplifies the pioneering spirit the IC Award seeks to celebrate.
Synopsis
Sole to Soul: A Western Glimpse at Foot-Binding is a 30-minute dance theatre work blending traditional Chinese opera movement with contemporary dance. Created by Takivan Damula Chuyouji, Wei-Wei Wu, and Chi-An Chen, the piece explores the complex history and symbolism of foot-binding—once considered a marker of beauty, now a reminder of constraint and resilience. Through stylized choreography, evocative imagery, and striking visual design, the performance reflects on women’s bodies, autonomy, and cultural transformation. Both intimate and visually powerful, Sole to Soul bridges tradition and modernity, inviting audiences to confront the legacies of beauty and oppression that still resonate today.
art* / a:t / noun, DANCE, PHYSICAL THEATRE & CIRCUS
LIPA Independent Project (UK)
Review
art* / a:t / noun earns its place as a Pioneer Award nominee for its bold interrogation of what “art” means in today’s world. Created by emerging artists Zoe Clark, Thea Solberg, and Freya Jones, this interdisciplinary work pushes boundaries by fusing contemporary dance, multimedia projection, and visual installation into a strikingly original form. It disrupts the traditional performer–audience divide, asking viewers to question where authenticity ends and commodification begins.
The piece’s strength lies in its pioneering spirit: it is not simply a performance, but a provocation. By staging the tension between artistic integrity and market forces, art / a:t / noun speaks directly to urgent debates in both creative industries and wider society. Its hybrid form—at once dance, theatre, and living artwork—challenges categorisation and opens new possibilities for cross-disciplinary performance.
With its daring concept, innovative staging, and strong intellectual backbone, art / a:t / noun exemplifies the kind of risk-taking, genre-defying work the Pioneer Award exists to celebrate.
Synopsis
art* / a:t / noun is a bold, experimental dance work created by LIPA graduates Zoe Clark, Thea Solberg, and Freya Jones. Combining striking choreography, multimedia projection, and evocative visual imagery, the piece explores the conflict between pure artistic expression and the pressures of commercial success. Both visually captivating and emotionally resonant, it invites audiences to reflect on the true meaning of “art.”