The Future Shore

Radio Play / Hörspiel — WDR, 2018

The Future Shore (Das künftige Ufer) is a science-fiction radio play written by Mati Shemoelof for WDR in 2018.

Set in Tel Aviv in 2048, the play imagines a radically different political future. Amir has fled a war-torn Europe and returned to his father's land. There, in the newly established Levantine Union, he waits for Anna, whom he left behind while escaping Europe.

Ten years earlier, the Levantine Union was founded as a union of states stretching from the Arabian Peninsula to the Black Sea. While Europe has descended into right-wing terrorism and civil war, the Middle East has become a space of peace, freedom of movement and democracy — connecting cities such as Dubai, Basra, Jerusalem and Istanbul.

Written as an Israeli-Palestinian artistic project, the play uses speculative fiction to imagine the year 2048 and to ask what the political geography of the Middle East and Europe might look like in the future.

WDR Production

Title: Das künftige Ufer
English title: The Future Shore
Format: Radio play / Hörspiel
Broadcaster: WDR
Year: 2018
Broadcast: 15 November 2021
Duration: 28:06 minutes
Genre: Science fiction
Director: Elena Zieser
Translation from English: Maren Kames

The WDR production was broadcast on 15 November 2021 and remains available through WDR's online archive.

From Berlin to Radio

After moving to Berlin, Shemoelof had the opportunity to develop The Future Shore as his first radio play for WDR. The project emerged from his interest in imagining political futures beyond existing national borders and in exploring the relationship between Israel/Palestine, Europe and the wider Middle East through literature and speculative fiction.

Theatre Adaptation

A Berlin theatre group is currently in dialogue with Mati Shemoelof about adapting The Future Shore from a radio play into a full-length theatre production.

Collaboration

Mati Shemoelof is interested in collaborations and adaptations of the work for theatre and other performance formats.

For collaborations and enquiries, please get in touch.

WDR Reference

Das künftige Ufer — Krieg in Europa, Frieden in Israel, WDR Hörspiel, 15 November 2021.