ABOUT THE STORY

During the COVID lockdown, a father tells his 4-year-old son a bedtime story: a man trapped in a cave discovers a living light. The light teases him, showing him pathways that lead nowhere but eventually reveals the cave’s beauty. Rescuers pull the man out, but he can no longer see his “personal light” amid the blinding cityscape.

This story inspired The Impossible Light, which follows Callen, a computer programmer absorbed in screens and gaming. When his partner Claire becomes pregnant, Callen spirals into fear and detachment. Drawn into an obsession with caves—sparked by images of the 2018 Thai children’s cave rescue—he ventures into a nearby cave, where he becomes trapped. There, he encounters a living light that guides him through visions of his partner’s pregnancy, echoes of the trapped children, and reflections of his own fears and insecurities. Callen becomes an observer, rescuer, and child, all at once, in the womb-like depths of the cave.

The narrative draws parallels with Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. But here, Callen’s illusion is not shadows but the glowing screens of his everyday life. His journey confronts him with the truth: to embrace his humanity, he must leave behind technology’s distractions and reconnect with the physical world.

ARTISTIC VISION

The “light” in the story is brought to life through a combination of programmed moving lights, LED installations, and handheld devices manipulated offstage like puppetry. The light breathes, dances, and transforms, interacting with Callen as a living entity. The womb-like cave set, designed by Carol-Anne Sicard, shifts between soft, threatening, and surreal textures. A reflective plexiglass floor amplifies the ethereal atmosphere, bending time and space through striking light effects.