Behold! A council of leeches, a mystic hermit, a Victorian inventor, an economics conference, a dark and dripping cave.

Uncovering a mysterious series of visions and omens, Ways of Knowing is a dance-theatre work which investigates the tools we use to predict and prophesy the future, from early meteorological devices to corporate trend forecasting and divination. Amidst an intricate system of set and improvised choreography, found text and visceral sound design, award-winning artists Emergency Chorus wield both science and magic to reckon with our precarious present and enter into the unknown.

Ways of Knowing comprises two distinct halves; mirror images, presented back to back. Part one, ‘All the Barometers in the World’, looks up to the skies in anticipation of a storm. Part two, ‘The Spelunkers’, follows a pair of explorers as they journey underground.

Winner of the Untapped Award 2025, and following their previous acclaimed shows Landscape (1989) and CELEBRATION, Ways of Knowing sees Emergency Chorus return to the stage with a strange and cloudy choreography, a descent into darkness, a startling revelation.

About the company

Emergency Chorus is the collaboration between Ben Kulvichit (he/him) and Clara Potter-Sweet (they/them). Since 2017, they have been working across theatre, live art and dance, creating collage-like performances of text, choreography, music and image (“Beguiling and enchanting work”, The Guardian). Their work deals with states of crisis and emergency, the relationships between ecology, capitalism and technology, and ways of approaching the future — all with complexity, strangeness and playfulness.

They have created and performed work at venues and organisations including Battersea Arts Centre, Cambridge Junction, Warwick Arts Centre, Old Diorama Arts Centre, Bristol Old Vic, New Diorama, Chisenhale Dance Space and BBC R&D.

Ben and Clara live in Bristol and are proud members of artist collective, Interval.

‘Completely unique. At once, opaque and mysterious, and at the same time, very warm and welcoming.’ – Andy Field & Beckie Darlington, artists

‘So many striking moments, ideas & images that will definitely stay with me for a long time.” – Júlia Levai, director

‘A joy of this show is its openness. It is open to interpretation, open to imagination.’ – Maddy Costa, writer and critic 

Additional information

Duration: 75 minutes

Age guidance: 12+

Content warning: Very loud sound, haze, flashing lights, periods of darkness. Brief gagging/retching sounds.

A small number of ear defenders are available to borrow from box office should anyone be sensitive to sudden loud noises.

After the show, there will be a 30-minute conversation between Ben Kulvichit and Clara Potter-Sweet (Emergency Chorus) and Dr Caitlin Kight. Caitlin is a researcher at University of Exeter working in the field of education, having arrived there via a circuitous and multidisciplinary route that includes behavioural ecology, science editing, communications and marketing, and academic development. The conversation will touch on themes related to Ways of Knowing: different ways of thinking about knowledge, approaches to the future, play and imagination, and working across disciplines.

Venue: Auditorium, Exeter Phoenix

*Subject to a £1.50 ticketing system charge. We don’t charge this to make a profit. Find out more >>