I walk into the basement of a church building and take my seat ten minutes before showtime. On stage, three bodies lie on the ground. They appear to be asleep, every now and then scratching their faces or twitching as if they’re dreaming. The stage is set with camping gear–a tent, a cooler, canteens and thermoses, a tree. We’re in the forest, one of my favourite settings for a spooky story.

When they awaken, they introduce themselves in a monologue chorus as children who’ve spent their whole lives training for this very moment–environmental and civilizational collapse. And then one day, it happened. They explain how each of them was quickly whisked away by their parents from everything they knew and loved, and left in the forest to survive. Their parents’ only parting instruction is to stick to The Plan: “Tell every story.”

The Precursors is a delightfully disturbing apocalyptic fairytale written by Spanish playwright Luis Sorolla, translated by Don Bogen, and produced for Montreal’s Fringe by a team of spunky Gen-Z creators from the U.S. It’s palpable in the actors’ voices and movements how much this story means to them. Each of them movingly inhabits the spirit of childlike attunement and play, and the ensemble’s chemistry together on stage is, for the most part, compelling. Although the script mentions environmental disaster, neoliberalism, and capitalism, there’s a degree to which the content of the lines feels less important than the precarious energy of the characters’ dynamic. One that suggests “the kids are not alright.” There’s an uncomfortable, unresolved question: Who are the parents that left these kids alone in such dire straights?

While each line may not carry too much weight, it’d still be nice to understand them, which at one point I have trouble doing. Towards the second half, in attempting to build an emotional crescendo, the actors lean too heavily on frenzied thrashing and frantic shrieking. Even with the help of two stagehands regularly tidying up on stage, an unwieldy number of props and clumsy handling also lead to more than one mishap. Someone drops a flashlight, which someone else accidentally steps on later. The tent zipper gets stuck. A rogue thermos rolls around and someone stumbles on it. There’s room here for the actors to improve their vocal techniques and physical control.

That said, the set, sound, and lighting were expertly crafted. I especially love the creative use of matchsticks and matchboxes as storytelling props, and classic cartoon references in the soundscape. The heart behind the production shines through and brings to life a timely meta-narrative about collective memory, intergenerational responsibility, and the place of storytelling at the end of worlds.

The Precursors was presented as a part of Montreal Fringe Festival’s 2026 programming at Mission Santa Cruz. As of this writing, the following performances remain:
Friday, June 19 at 13h30
Saturday, June 20 at 18h45
You can find more information here.