Voidspace Festival, 9th June 2024

In which the audience play members of a community whose district has been taken captive by the Uncanny King: a fey-like creature of enormous power to warp the world if pleased, and punish people when vexed.

The previous Uncanny Things show was all about a community bargaining and negotiating with a supernatural being. Initially, I thought I'd leave it there, despite people asking for More Content - not least because 2023 ended up being quite busy with work for other people.

However, the thought started to emerge: if Come Bargain is about being equal with the Uncanny Thing, what happens if we are not equal? What happens if it is more powerful than us? What happens if it is far weaker than us?

And so the Uncanny King and its court was born. A world where the question to the audience is 'how do you deal with not having power?'

This was the first test. The Uncanny King was a monster. And yet also, this is the show that ended as a comedy, thanks to the ensemble and the absurdity of what the King desired.