1884

Created by theatre-maker Rhianna Ilube and BAFTA-winning game-makers Coney, 1884 is an immersive game-theatre show inspired by the legacy of the 1884 Berlin Conference, an often-overlooked historical turning point for the African continent and the world. 

Welcome to Wilhelm Street. Make yourself at home! 

As you settle in with your new family, you won’t only pick out furniture - you’ll forge new traditions and memories that you hope will last a lifetime.

Somewhere nearby, though, there’s a meeting going on. A very important meeting. Run by very important people. Making very important decisions about your lives. But you and your family are not allowed inside… 

1884 isn’t a history lesson – it’s a fun, fast-paced, and thought-provoking journey where play and protest meet. Explore colonial legacies, collective memory, and what it means to be part of the story… or pushed out of it.

1884 is an immersive and interactive show where audiences are actively invited to participate and interact with other audience members, but any participation will be optional. 

Though taking place in a contemporary fictionalised setting, the piece contains references to colonialism, power, protest, resistance, displacement, government restrictions, forced migration, gentrification, heritage, and how these events are memorialised (or not) in contemporary society.

There are limited references to the 1884 Berlin Conference or the partition of the African continent in the show; due to its fictionalised set-up, audiences may also connect the show’s theme to other historical or contemporary events.