Tiny Human Dramas returns to Manchester’s Contact Theatre on Saturday 31 May with a daring, moving and utterly unique night of theatre.
In just 90 minutes, audiences will witness five entirely original short plays – each created in just 24 hours – that explore some of the most complex, poignant and timely questions about what it means to be human today. This isn’t just experimental theatre – it is research, radically reimagined.
The brainchild of Dr Meghan Rose Donnelly and Dr Alexandra D’Onofrio from The University of Manchester and theatre producer Laura Sophie Helbig, Tiny Human Dramas pairs anthropologists with theatre-makers to transform deep, field-based research into short, emotionally resonant performances.
Each team has just 24 hours to devise, rehearse and stage their 10-minute piece – a creative constraint which sparks a surprising level of intensity and innovation.
Last year’s sold-out premiere at Contact Theatre drew a packed house and rave audience reviews. It brought anthropological research to life for new audiences, sparked conversations about diversity and belonging, and showed the public that research can be a living, breathing, creative force.
“It’s rare to see a project where everyone – researchers, artists, students, and audiences – walks away changed,” says Helbig. “We’re not just making theatre. We’re co-creating new ways of thinking, feeling, and connecting across difference.”
Each play is infused with the distinctive voice of its creators – from poetic monologues to ensemble movement, to satire and sensory storytelling. Following the performance, audience members are invited to stay for a candid conversation with the creators, discussing the themes, the process, and what it means to tell stories across cultures.
In a time of global complexity and cultural tension, it offers a rare chance to pause, reflect and connect. It celebrates the diversity of lived experience and invites audiences to engage directly with the kinds of questions anthropology is uniquely positioned to ask.
Tickets for the event can be purchased at https://contactmcr.com/events/tiny-human-dramas-2.
