"Once upon a time, there was Futouria: machines, chips, screws, and beasts; you traveled through space inside buses, and the only thing left unchanged was taxation..."

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The realm of fiction known as science fiction is vast, both in terms of themes (space adventures, teleportation, biomedical advancements, biotechnology, psychic phenomena, artificial intelligence, end-of-the-world scenarios, etc.) and in its subgenres (hard and soft sci-fi, horror, fantasy, cyberpunk, steampunk, post-apocalyptic fiction, space opera, and many more).

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Science fiction has devoted fans worldwide across film, comics, and, of course, literature — for both adult and younger audiences. Personally, without being a critic or a fanatic of the genre, I have a somewhat stereotypical image of science fiction: in an indeterminate, bleak dystopian future, humanity suffers under a monstrous oligarchic regime. The endings are usually grim for the likeable heroes, but despite their failures, the message often emerges that humankind remains "better" than the hyper-evolved machines or alien invaders.

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Futuristic Education

Thinking about Futouria reminded me of a bill proposed in West Virginia that made reading science fiction books mandatory in secondary education. I also recalled statements from Nicky Morgan, the UK's Secretary of State for Education, who urged teenagers to avoid the arts — deemed damaging to the economy — and instead to pursue science and mathematics if they wanted future employment opportunities. I remembered too the budget cuts to arts and humanities education. These are glimpses of futuristic education, where adult "prophets" and "specialists" seek to boost children's technological skills without truly understanding the professional demands of the decades to come.

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What scientific laws and inventions will govern everyday life in the near future? Does science fiction really bring us closer to what’s ahead? Or by focusing so much on the future, are we overlooking the lived experiences and immediate needs of children today? It's ironic that both science fiction and scientific forecasts often envision dystopias — unfavorable futures — toward which we seem so eager to push our children.

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In my view, the only truly appealing aspect of educational futurism is when children channel a fertile scientific curiosity: when they create timelines and diagrams about Earth’s history on classroom walls, when they project future studies onto paleontology, trying to imagine what comes next by studying what came before.

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The Hippo Theatre Group and the Play Futouria

I've previously written in this column about the Hippo Theatre Group, on the occasion of their wonderful production I Oraia Koimomeni², which continues to be performed every Sunday at the Black Box Theatre. Hippo — founded by Fotis Dousos and Alexandros Raptis — introduce themselves as an international group and have completed tours across Europe and the Americas.

Futouria, their latest theatrical piece for children and young audiences (according to their press release, based on the novella Mia Fora kai Meta Enan Kairo by Nikos Tsiotsos — though I couldn't find a published version of this novella), adapted by Hippo, serves as the canvas for an imaginative and ambitious performance. The futuristic dramatic environment provides the spatiotemporal framework and the setting for a familiar story:

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"Year 2999. Avriana 245 minus suddenly decides to quit her job and go outside to dance in the rain. But such behavior is forbidden in Futouria. From there, her adventure begins..."

A magnificent on-stage narrative about the Big and Small "Nos" of life, and the freedom of will.

The direction by Fotis Dousos and Alexandros Raptis follows a narrative style, interspersed with dialogues. There’s a rhythmic physical depiction of linear storytelling. The visualization of narrative segments (choreographed by the Hippo Group and Haris Pehlivanidis) is outstanding. The significance of the story is easily grasped by young viewers and remains intriguingly ambiguous for adults. The electronic music (composed by Hippo and Paris Fragkos) is light, catchy, and easy to remember.

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They also employ constructive techniques from educational drama ("distancing" and "thought-tracking" activities, designed by Kalliopi Fykari and Hippo), enriching the performance's depth. The acting by the three performers (Christiana Kandilioti, Alexandros Raptis, and Fotis Dousos) is playful, genuine, and invites open interaction with the audience.

Children are not future career-driven adults. Their future belongs to them by right, and our role is merely to inspire them. The Hippo Theatre Group achieves this with exemplary performances.

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P.S.
The Hippo Theatre Group presents Futouria starting October 11, 2015, at the Alkmini Theatre in Athens.