Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
This hypnotic tale of an orbiting spaceship ponders big questions about what it means to be human

In this sci-fi dystopia, Earth has been destroyed and a spaceship is orbiting an unknown planet. The setup, too, is unfamiliar, challenging many of the usual rules of theatre: the audience can at times walk on to the stage, film the performance and take pictures.

Based on the Booker International-shortlisted novel of the same name by the Danish author Olga Ravn, and staged in Polish (with English surtitles) by Warsaw-based company Studio teatrgaleria, The Employees tells the story of humans and humanoids living together. There is a cube-like structure representing their ship, objects from the planet in glass cabinets with special – perhaps dangerous – powers and an unseen bureaucratic power called the Organisation with shades of Big Brother.