Rhianna Ilube is a playwright, theatre-maker, facilitator and events curator. Her work often explores themes of activism, identity and history through interactive storytelling and co-creation methods. Alongside theatre, Rhianna is a film programmer for BFI Flare and has previously worked as an activist youth facilitator for The Advocacy Academy. In 2020, she co-founded A History of Everyone Else, an online web-series exploring untaught histories of the British Empire. Her award-winning debut play, Samuel Takes A Break, premiered at The Yard Theatre in February 2024.
Ilube is the writer and project director of 1884 an immersive anti-colonial playable theatre show inspired by the legacy of the 1884 Berlin Conference, which is coming to Shoreditch Town Hall from Wednesday 17 – Saturday 27 April. Check it out here.
1. How would you describe the show, 1884?
1884 is an immersive-game theatre show, loosely inspired by the legacy and impact of the 1884 Berlin conference on the African continent. Audiences will be invited to become ‘family groups’ in a new fictional town, and engage in a series of fun, playful activities towards building a new community. I don’t want to give too much away, but not all will be as it seems…there are plenty of twists and turns along the way.
2. What can you tell us about your role in the production?
I am the project director, co-creator and co-writer. I came up with the idea for an immersive show inspired by the 1884 conference’s legacy and shared it with interactive arts charity Coney a couple of years ago. Since then, we’ve been working together with a group of incredible artists to develop the show from scratch, through a series of R&Ds and playtests.
3. 1884 is described as being co-created by artists, historians and activists; can you describe a little about this process?
We ran a series of workshops and R&D weeks with lots of people who have different skills and perspectives on the history – from writers to historians, game-designers, dramaturgs and activists – you can see the full creative team here. The first of these weeks happened in January 2023: we learned about the history together, created a manifesto for what we wanted to create, and playtested different ideas. The structure and concept of 1884 emerged from that week.
4. 1884 is inspired by the legacy of the 1884 Berlin Conference. Why do you think this event is talked about so little in the UK?
The UK famously does not like to talk about any of its involvement in colonialism, slavery and extraction. The 1884 conference was one of many ‘landmark’ moments in history that implicated the whole of the European continent in efforts to ‘ramp up’ colonisation, as their diplomats tried to ‘coordinate’ and solidify their hold on the African continent, with devastating consequences to both human life and the environment. The story of the conference was our jumping off point, but the methods of colonial logic and these kinds of ‘closed door’ and ‘forgotten’ conferences that have brutal impacts across generations have been replicated across history to the present day.
5. Why did you choose to explore the themes of the show through an immersive and playable theatre experience?
I think a lot about which formats are best to tell certain stories. I was keen to avoid players playing as colonialists, or role-playing and reenacting the conference in any way. Instead, the piece is set in a fictionalised world, drawing upon some of the dynamics of the conference and its legacy, which works well as an immersive piece. I want people to ‘feel’ the story – not just to learn about it or watch it unfold from afar. I want people to talk to each other, to build relationships through this piece. It makes me sad when I see audiences leave an amazing piece of theatre or cinema and nobody is talking to anyone new. I think deep conversations about difficult topics amongst strangers are best ignited when people have just played something together, and that’s what I would like to see happen at the end of each show.
6. As a theatre-maker, what was it like working with Coney, who has so much experience creating interactive experiences?
I have been working with Coney since 2021 on different projects, so collaborating together is almost like second-nature to me. Most of what I have learned about creating interactive experiences – such as prioritising care, creating moments of magic and mystery, and putting the audience at the heart of everything – I learned from Coney. So it was a smooth process and they gave me and all the creatives a lot of freedom to dream big, as well as the time needed to refine the experience through playtests and reflection. I will shout out our senior producer Marie Klimis, who has truly been my collaborator-at-large from Coney over the past year to make 1884 happen.
7. You say 1884 is to be both experienced and shaped by audiences, what is it like as a creative to know the final form of your work is in the hands of the audience?
It is nerve-wracking! But this is what interactivity is all about. In the end, I am a strong believer that it is our job – as creatives, game-designers, writers – to anticipate all circumstances, and play-test over and over, so we can largely know what to expect. I think it is dangerous for interactive experiences to be left fully in the hands of audiences – we have to create a safe and interesting container within which audiences can feel free to play and explore.
8. What do you hope audiences will take away from the experience?
I don’t want to prescribe a specific thing I hope people take away from the experience. I hope the show makes people really feel something, and that they are thinking about it long after the show ends.
9. As well as 1884 (17 – 27 April), your debut play, Samuel Takes a Break …, is on at Yard Theatre until late March – how does it feel to be presenting two productions in London within a matter of months?
It is extremely intense – my ability to manage my time and creative headspace effectively has never been tested as much as it has right now! It’s interesting too. I’ve been thinking about and working on both these shows since 2019, and it just so happens that they are now going public at the exact same moment. I think both shows speak to each other in exciting ways, and are trying to do or say similar things via very different formats, reflecting on how societies and individuals remember the past; how the past, present and future meld into one another; and how generational trauma and resistance narratives are passed down through the ages. I hope some people can make it to both, and tell me what they think!