Early Days (Of A Better Nation)

Rebuilding a country. One decision at a time.

Set 20 years in the future, Early Days (Of A Better Nation) cast audience members as survivors of a brutal civil war. Their mission? Form a new parliament to lead the nation through crisis.

Inspired by real-world movements like the Arab Spring and Occupy, this interactive performance challenged its players to come together, form a new parliament, and rebuild democracy from the ground up. Every choice made steered the story in a different direction. The show shifted and reshaped in real time, depending on how players responded to pressing dilemmas and provocations. Early Days sparked a playful yet powerful engagement with politics, revealing just how hard it is to build a future that everyone can agree on.

No two performances were the same. Each choice — each debate, each alliance — reshaped the country’s future in real time.

“What’s fascinating to watch is how quickly people start identifying with their randomly allocated region; how positions become entrenched… and just how wonderful human beings can be.”
— Lyn Gardner, The Guardian

“The plurality of voices mattered. It meant that when someone gave their opinion, claiming they’d solved everything, there was always someone to offer a rebuttal and explain why there was another point of view. That’s what politics should be, it should build in the necessity of different opinions and the chance to air them.”

— Tim Bano, Exeunt