SOUL TRADING

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY KATE WALDER
THE REBEL THEATRE, PIER 2/3 WALSH BAY ARTS PRECINCT, SEPTEMBER 2023
PRESENTED BY STEPS & HOLES THEATRE COMPANY IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE AUSTRALIAN THEATRE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE (ATYP)
SUPPORTED BY THE NSW GOVERNMENT THROUGH CREATE NSW

* SYDNEY THEATRE AWARD NOMINEE (BEST PRODUCTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE) *
* Best Original Work or Adaptation (Canberra Ovation Awards) *
* ATYP Junior Foundation Commission WINNER *
PUBLISHED BY PLAYLAB THEATRE

The year is 2079. Humans are created with gene selection technology, Artificial Intelligence is part of everyday life and children's best friends are their Learning Bots. Except for Jerry. Jerry is not like the others. Neither is Neutron Finch, an exceptionally clever Learning Bot who seems to appear out of nowhere. He is smarter than most Bots, funnier and also possibly illegal. It doesn't take long for the status quo to unravel and one night, Jerry and his classmates are summoned to the oval…
The Bots want souls. Specifically, theirs. It’s up to six young minds to solve the greatest existential question of all time within 24 hours. Will their soul-searching provide the answers they need to stop AI destroying the world as they know it?
Soul Trading is a fast-paced, sophisticated and hilarious exploration of an impending future, performed by 18 young people. A deeply philosophical and prescient work, this new play for 10-13 yr olds is universally resonant and will delight and challenge audiences of all ages.

CREATIVE TEAM
Writer/ Director / Movement Director: Kate Walder
Producer: Emily Buxton
Dramaturg: Jane Fitzgerald
Video + Installation Artist: Laura Turner
Sound Designer: Tegan Nicholls
Composer: Patrick Haesler
Set Realiser / Costume Designer: Meg Anderson
Lighting Designer: Benjamin Brockman
Assistant Director: Jestika Chand
Stage Manager: Dylan Ford
Production Manager: Heidi Atkins
Production Assistant: Dan Maher
Custom Costume Makes: Hailley Hunt
Video Mentee: Adetokunbo Abioye
Lighting Operator: Taryn Zentrich
Image: Luke Stambouliah
Graphic Design: Justin Stambouliah & Fifty One Watts

CAST
Trix Bowditch, Eloise Bracher, Ewan Buchanan-Constable, Aria Calabro, Archie Carfax-Foster, Jeffrey Dimi, Araminta Dusseldorp, Finn Dusseldorp, Charlie Griffin, Addie Houston, Saskia Munro, Annabelle Obermeder, Ava Palfreyman, Max Stores, Tahlia Sturzaker, Jordan Thompson, Jacob Townsend, Felicity Yang with Aimee Horne as the voice of T5000 and Miss ABC.