Thoreau took himself away from the industrialising world of 19th century America to take time to reflect amongst natural surroundings. It was in many ways a meditation on the consumerist and materialist obsessions of Western society at that time. In the book, Thoreau writes at one point: “We are not where we are, but in a false position”. Around 130 years later, Thoreau’s provocation is quoted by a character in Paul Auster’s 1983 novella ‘Ghosts’, as one man searches for meaning in a life that seems to have stalled and begun to fall apart. These two instances of the same quote became a stimulus for us here at Theatre Absolute, as we began to grapple with the notion that, here in the 21st century, we are arguably not where we are, but in fact, somewhere else. It felt apt as the advanced societies we have created spin in seemingly daily chaos. It felt apt when, here, today, one considers the qualities and complexities of justice, equality, race, citizenship, nationhood, isolation, inclusion, the list goes on.