Elba is a tiny island in the middle of the Mediterranean sea, not quite as big as Corsica, not quite as small as Monte Cristo. We are best known for those 10 months. Those 10 months where The Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, graced our shores, and became our leader. In all honesty, times were tough, we needed something, anything, a sign of hope. And then out of the blue he appeared. He promised us the world, he promised us wealth, he promised us prosperity. We trusted him. We gave him all we had… But we were foolish, weren’t we? Naive perhaps? And now we will never be able to escape his shadow…

What happens to a community that has no control over its future? What happens when we believe the promises of the powerful? Napoleon Bonaparte’s banishment on the island of Elba was unexpected, nobody, least of all the Elbans saw this coming. But was this a sign of hope for the island, or had they become a sacrificial pawn in a megalomaniacs masterplan?

Elba is a show about, “Gentrification, pricing out locals, and politician’s broken promises“, whilst also exploring themes of Britain’s colonial past. Elba is a physical theatre multi-media show about Napoleon Bonaparte forgotten months, but really, it is an all too well known narrative about, “a community that is taken for granted and not given a voice, or a choice, in its future.”