How to Build a Spaceship

Journey to new futures and discover Leeds’ past as a pioneer of science fiction. 

A live performance from March 2023 blending spoken word, electronic sounds, tape machines, turntables and music, we invite you to join us on a voyage of discovery, backwards and forwards through time.

In 1937, Leeds played host to the world’s first science fiction convention, inviting writers including Arthur C. Clarke to imagine possible worlds and technologies on the eve of what would soon become the Second World War. Over eight decades later the world is once again facing global challenges. Inspired by the words and ideas of the original Science Fiction League writers, authors Khadijah Ibrahiim and Malika Booker have collaborated with Better Songs to explore ideas of ‘the future’ through afrofuturist and other cultural lenses.

Supported with funding from Leeds Inspired, part of Leeds City Council.