On stage, science fiction often maneuvers between extrapolation, interpolation and actualization; between entertainment, spectacle and experiment. The following essay is an attempt to think about the relationship between science fiction in theatre and space flights, primarily focusing on the mechanisms and processes of performing and mediating sensory experiences. In the first part, the author briefly discusses the dialectical entanglement of science and fiction. In the second part, the author explores travels to and through space in three plays: Intracom (1974), a short play by Ursula Le Guin, Space Opera Zero, written by Eric Woolfe and produced by Eldrich Theatre, and Živadinov’s Gravitation Zero / Biomechanics Noordung (1999). These examples offer an illustration of the conceptual framework discussed in the first part. The analysis is focused on exploring the inner workings of (cognitive) estrangement and the oscillations between depictions of both intimate relationships and the cosmic width that inevitably confronts audiences with the unknown.
