Theatre Productions, Community, Educational & European Projects
THE FOUNTAIN OF LIGHT
WORLD PREMIERE
A new play by David Calcutt, Zainab Rao and Rajan Sharma
Coming soon: The Fountain of Light, a new play performed in Dudley Canal and Caverns!
The Fountain of Light is a large‑scale, site‑specific theatre project created through deep collaboration with communities across the Midlands. Performed in the underground world of Dudley Canal & Caverns, the production transforms the caverns into an ancient, mythical city at a time of war — a place where past and present, myth and testimony, echo through stone, water and darkness.
THE CREATION OF THE PLAY
We wanted to explore classical tales of war and exile - and the way they continue to find echoes in modern-day warfare.
With a group of actors, we began exploring stories from the Iliad and the Bhagavad Gita. We wanted to focus on the impact of conflict on ordinary citizens rather than heroic narratives.
We took the image of a city torn apart by an endless cycle of conflict within its ruling family.
This mythic framework became the foundation for a new narrative that could hold many different voices.
We then worked with young people, many from migrant and refugee backgrounds, who helped us develop a unique structure for the play: a Museum of Peace. A series of rooms will tell the story of the city through time. Of course, a "museum" may not always tell the real story of what happened...
This ideas shaped the form of the production and inspired the idea of an immersive journey which audiences take. Each "room" presents the story in different ways - through drama or video etc., but also through light, sound, objects, narration...
We interviewed refugees from Ukraine and Syria, gathering personal stories of displacement, fear, resilience and hope. This was central to our aim: to find echoes between ancient and modern stories of war, and to ground the play in the suffering that conflict inflicts on ordinary people.
Their testimonies were woven into the play, finding powerful resonances with the myths we had been exploring. Some of the voices we heard were stark and unforgettable:
"People began to disappear… just a few at first...”
“It was always at night when they came for you… listening for the boots on the stairs.”
“You couldn’t trust anybody… even your own family.”
“People queued for hours before the shops opened… just for half a loaf of bread.”
Image: Walls have Ears by Yara al-Najem
You can read more of the testimonies here.
These fragments helped shape the emotional landscape of the production and guided our commitment to telling a story that honours lived experience while drawing on mythic imagination.
We collaborated with dancers and musicians to experiment with storytelling through movement, rhythm and sound, building a physical language that connects mythic scenes with contemporary experience (see Gallery above). Throughout the process, we shared our work with community groups to gather feedback and refine the emerging story.
The project brings together diverse communities - British Asian, British Black and East European, drawing on their diverse stories, cultural traditions and mythologies, and interlacing them into a shared narrative.
Dudley Canal & Caverns is not simply a venue — it is the engine of the whole production. Its echoing chambers, narrow passages and hidden pools create a sense of disorientation, strangeness and discovery. The underground journey mirrors the emotional journey of the characters: displacement, fear, and the search for refuge.
Travelling by boat into the dark takes audiences into the hidden, buried parts of the "city" - a place of shelter while war rages above, but also a space where the city’s ancient past, its rituals and myths, come to the surface. The passage underground becomes a descent into memory and history, revealing what has been lost, forgotten or concealed.
The site allows us to build an immersive journey in which audiences travel by boat and on foot through a series of environments: a city in ruins, a chamber of whispered memories, a river of light. Live performers, community participants and multimedia installations guide them through a story that moves between ancient myth and contemporary testimony.
The Fountain of Light builds on our previous large‑scale immersive production, Descent, which transformed a former factory into a dreamlike world of memory and myth. Together, these productions demonstrate our vision: to create ambitious, site‑responsive theatre that resonates deeply with audiences and brings communities together through shared storytelling.
On this page you will find images & film of work-in-progress. Background image by production designer Lilith Piper
Design by Lilith Piper
Design by Lilith Piper
Our previous immersive theatre project
DESCENT
by David Calcutt & Sarah Sayeed
"A brilliant piece of theatre" - Elise Evans, Radio WM
In the aftermath of war, four characters go on a mysterious journey underground. They are haunted by visions and ghosts of the past. The things they have done, the things they have seen.
Their journey ends in a strange encounter - and a terrible beauty is born...
AUDIENCE AND CRITICAL RESPONSE:
"... a unique theatrical journey ... dynamic and exciting"
"Once seen, it won't be forgotten. One of the best theatrical experiences I've seen"
"Go and see it. Truly worth it."
"AMAZING immersive show. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! An absolute must see."
Click here to find out more about the production
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The Fountain of Light and Descent have been funded by grants from Arts Council England and the Sir Barry Jackson Trust