The Dancer

A novella.

Penelope D’Silva is a dancer, loved worldwide for her innovative interpretations of classic theatre. She is a perfectionist, content only with being the best. Performing to packed theatres live every night, the recordings syndicated globally – she is incomparable.

But her new live show, The Lady, is faltering, with empty seats and dwindling audiences marring each performance. The advent of 3D projection technology is changing the nature of theatre. Performance is evolving, as audiences flock to the CineTheatres.

As every artist must, D’Silva must innovate, raise her standards, or lose her audience – to herself.

A story of doubles, the territory between progress and work that has endured for centuries, and the nature of live experience, Rab Ferguson’s The Dancer looks at how technology changes our art, and artists. In the age of the perfect simulation, what is an authentic experience?