'You trying to tell me Buckingham Palace don’t look like a space craft?'

Following its original August run, Matidla Ibini’s otherworldly Shielders returns for a limited time.

Shahbaz, Zira and Trice have been in lockdown in Glasgow for months, spending their days on the phone to each other whilst searching the skies for sightings from another planet. Now, though the world is opening up, Shahbaz must stay in his shielding bubble as Zira and Trice head back into the outside world and their ‘real’ lives, losing interest in hunting for answers amongst the stars.

But for Shahbaz his ‘normality’ starts to take a toll, so some new friends pay him a visitation...

Influenced by Afrofuturism and classic sci-fi movies, Shielders takes a unique look at the very alien world we now find ourselves in and its impact on those who still find themselves on the inside, looking out.

The Traverse is funded by Creative Scotland and The City of Edinburgh Council, with additional support from The Scottish Government Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund

Image: Mihaela Bodlovic