"Seven Songs of Yearning for a New World, Sung by a Starship" is a science fiction musical and the first stage collaboration between ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS and Ruby Louise Rose.
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Desire Machines: a night of Queer sci-fi
This queer-futuristic work combines original compositions with poetic text to tell the story of queer refugees carried through space aboard a spaceship driven by desire.
The music and songs were composed by Ruby Louise Rose to lyrics by ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS, and woven together into a 45-minute live performance by Aslan, Chris, and Ruby featuring modulated vocals, bass guitar, and electronics.
For the first Berlin showing, old and new friends from the city and beyond are invited. Featuring Óscar Barbosa, Lor Burns, elliott cennetoglu, CoCo & Alice Thibes, ethan allison folk, Jean P’ark, and Anna T., they’ll bring you an eclectic mix of queer sci-fi treats, including short films, readings, music, and more.
A selection of queer sci-fi will be available for purchase at the event.
To wrap things up, Ruby Louise Rose will spin a sci-fi DJ set. Come join us for an evening of speculative magic!
ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS has been presenting queer speculative fiction at Ballhaus Ost since 2015 and is back with fellow conspirator Ruby Louise Rose to present their first musical collaboration.
Additional information
Dates
October 2026
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