The
Project
13 Hours.
No Intermission.
13 Directors.
13 Writers.
1 Day.
Ulysses
Over 100 years ago, amidst the First World War and the anxieties of drastic urban transformations, James Joyce undertook the audacious task of attempting to capture the totality of universal human experience in his masterpiece Ulysses.
He saw the modern Greek tragedy not in the lives of kings or warriors, but in the Odyssey of everyday thought, of ordinary people navigating a single day, filled with memory, desire, loss, language, routine, and transcendence.
The result was a monumental humanist manifesto, negotiating nihilism, existentialism, and positivism as it wrestled with the contradictions at the heart of what it means to be human, to think, to feel, to exist.
In today’s experiential Odyssey, we encounter a new era of existential anxiety, shaped by technology, omnipresent apocalyptic forebodings, and the rise of AI, forces that unsettle our understanding of thought, identity, and what it means to be human once again.
I am, a stride at a time. A very short space of time through very short time of space. - J.J.
London's biggest independent theatre production.
Ulysses 2025
Contexts have changed drastically in the decade since Joyce constructed Ulysses, yet the attempt to grasp the complexity and multiplicity of modern existence appears of unchanged relevance.
Ulysses (2025) will therefore set out not simply to adapt Ulysses. Instead, it will attempt to capture its essence: a textual and formal anthology of the modern human condition, exploring memory, identity, chaos, routine, beauty, and contradiction, brought on stage in one monumental performance.
Each part, each individual hour, stands alone in style, yet connects through recurring themes, characters, and questions, an utterly ambitious mosaic of what it means to be alive today, between the everyday mundane and the intellectually divine.
Just like the original, this production will follow the Odyssey of everyday experience, tracking a few characters over the course of a single day, put on stage in real time across 13 continuous hours. Each hour corresponding to one chapter or section of Ulysses.
James Joyce set out not only to capture the totality of human experience, but also the totality of form. With each chapter, he radically reinvented language, structure, and style, pushing expressive experimentation to its limits. We aim to bring this same essence to the stage:
Each hour will be created by a different writer, director, and cast. We will be forming a vast creative collective united by a shared mission and constant communication, but with the opportunity to express distinct voices and singular formal experimentation.
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Non-profit independent theatre production
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All revenue will be shared fairly and equally with all creatives (no up-front pay, but every pound made is handed over to everyone in the collective)
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A vast creative collective of 100 of London’s best emerging performing arts talent working together
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A monumental anthology of anxiety and transcendence in modern existence, in light of drastic transformations
I hold this to be the highest function of art: to bring together all that is separate. - J.J.
Phase 1: Writing
Summer 2025
In the first production phase, we will host a multi-round competition to find 13 emerging visionary writers. Apply now!
Each writer will receive a specific chapter to work from, but you will have complete creative freedom in how you respond to it. You can stay close to the source text or drift far from it. You might write a personal monologue, a surreal collage, a classical drama, a musical, or a raw piece of contemporary realism. What matters is that you engage with the core themes, characters, or questions of the chapter, and filter them through your voice and your idea of the modern human experience.
Quote Joyce or ignore him entirely. Use his structure, or break it.
You do not need to have read the whole novel. A detailed brief and background materials will be provided.
Each script should be approximately 55 minutes long.
You’ll be part of a collaborative writing collective, with opportunities to:
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Discuss and cross-reference with other writers
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Share drafts and receive feedback
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Contribute to the larger artistic vision
Writers will have 3 months this summer to finish their chapter, with multiple check-ins, conversations and reading sessions along the way.
Writers will also be given priority consideration to direct their own chapter, if they wish to be considered during the next phase of team assembly.
Application Brief
We’re looking for the most talented and dedicated emerging writers, so we’ve put together a special application process:
1. Write a 3–5 page scene/dialogue/moment based on one of the scenarios below.
2. Write a short personal statement (just a few sentences - we want to get a quick sense of who you are).
3. Send both to: undergroundtheatre1@gmail.com
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Sign up to our mailing list below or DM us on Instagram for updates or if you have any questions.
The deadline for applications is 1 July 2025.
The earlier you submit, the more time we’ll have to consider your work.
Scenarios (choose one):
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Someone returns home after a long time away, only to find that things have changed. He tries to slip back into his old routine, but something - or someone - gets in the way.
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Two young people have a one-night stand. One of them wakes up before the other and makes a discovery.
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A suicidal person suddenly becomes wealthy. Money does fix all their problems, but in order not to appear shallow to their therapist, they must keep up the act.
Please submit your scene in standard script format.
Feel free to be experimental or traditional - we just want to see a glimpse of your style and how creatively you engage with a scenario.
Good luck!
