SHADOW

Following the hugely successful Leeds dates of THE SHADOW WHOSE PREY THE HUNTER BECOMES (UK tour), by Australia’s award-winning Back to Back Theatre, we are thrilled to be co-hosting an online presentation of its debut feature-length film, SHADOW.

Simon, Scott and Sarah, a trio of activists with intellectual disabilities, hold a town hall meeting about the future impacts of artificial intelligence. Simon, considering himself a saviour for the community, quickly appoints himself the mayor, and Scott reluctantly steps into the role of facilitator, but soon becomes enamoured with his own power and begins to dismiss the experiences of others. Sarah, often overlooked and underestimated by her counterparts, explodes, confronting the self-appointed leaders on their inadequacies. What begins as a polite discussion quickly descends into bickering and chaos, seemingly provoked by a force within. Sarah acts to unite the group, only to realise the battle to get their message across may be lost already.

“When artificial intelligence overtakes human intelligence, how will people be treated?” 

 Watch the trailer

Directed by Bruce Gladwin, SHADOW is a darkly humorous 56-minute film based on Back to Back Theatre’s award-winning stage play THE SHADOW WHOSE PREY THE HUNTER BECOMES (2019), which was developed, in part, at the 2019 Sundance Theatre Lab at MASS MoCA, and was described by The New York Times as “extraordinary”.

Over the last thirty years, Back to Back Theatre has made a body of work that questions the assumptions of what is possible in theatre, but also the assumptions we hold about ourselves and others.

The online presentation of SHADOW for UK audiences is supported by Transform, Battersea Arts Centre and Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts.

Listen to the audio flyer.

Credits & Supporters

A Back to Back Pictures Production

Director: Bruce Gladwin
Screenplay: Michael Chan, Mark Deans, Bruce Gladwin, Simon Laherty, Sarah Mainwaring, Scott Price, Sonia Teuben

Based on the Back to Back Theatre stage production THE SHADOW WHOSE PREY THE HUNTER BECOMES

Producer: Alice Fleming
Director of Photography and Editor: Rhian Hinkley
Musical Composition: Luke Howard Trio (Luke Howard, Daniel Farrugia, Jonathan Zion)
Art Director: Tao Weis
Costume Designer: Shio Otani
Associate Producer: Meret Hassanen
Assistant Producer: Pippa Wright
Executive Producers: Bruce Gladwin, Tim Stitz

SHADOW was adapted from THE SHADOW WHOSE PREY THE HUNTER BECOMES, which was co-commissioned for the stage by Carriageworks, Theater der Welt 2020 Düsseldorf, the Keir Foundation, the Thyne Reid Foundation and The Anthony Costa Foundation, supported by Creative Partnerships Australia through Plus 1, with development support from the Geelong Arts Centre, Arts Centre Melbourne, Melbourne International Arts Festival, the Une Parkinson Foundation, The Public Theater (New York) and ArtsEmerson (Boston). THE SHADOW WHOSE PREY THE HUNTER BECOMES was developed, in part, at the 2019 Sundance Theatre Lab at MASS MoCA.

For more information and full credits, visit theshadowfilm.com