A New Theatrical Experiment
The Future Will Be Absolutely Fantastic
Created & Performed by Denmo Ibrahim
Directed by Sherrine Azab
Developed & Presented by Golden Thread Productions
As part of the 2026 Playwright in Residence Program
~Work In Progress~
Join us to be part of a beloved Golden Thread artist’s creative process. In this immersive workshop production, 2026 Playwright in Residence Denmo Ibrahim will be exploring this playful project’s audience interactive and storytelling elements. Each performance will be followed by a Q&A and feedback session with the creators. Having premiered Ibrahim’s Arab Spring and developed A Country of Made of Salt as part of the Palestinian Art Festival this year, Golden Thread is honored to support the development of a third piece as part of her residency.
October 29, 2026 - October 30, 2026
The Annex (above Potrero Stage)
1695 18th Street, #C101, San Francisco, CA 94107
Pay What You Can ($20 suggested donation)
In The Future Will Be Absolutely Fantastic,an environmental catastrophe annihilates an entire ocean of marine life except for one lonely octopus. When her great escape from a Petco fish tank sends her out into the world, she begins an investigation into the ones responsible for her predicament — and discovers a species obsessed with making the unknowable known through signs, predictions, and divination.
Part field study, part divination experiment, The Future Will Be Absolutely Fantastic mashes marine biology, human testimony, Gen X detritus, bad commercials, ’80s power ballads, animal mating rituals, synchronicity, and live encounters with the audience. Madam O observes, classifies, and attempts to understand the curious human animals in her tank. Results will be recorded. Conclusions are not guaranteed.
Artist Biographies
Denmo Ibrahim
Creator and Performer
Denmo Ibrahim
(she/her) is an American playwright, actor, and theatre maker of Egyptian descent. She is the recipient of the Legacy Playwright Award from Advance Gender Equity in the Arts and was shortlisted for the 2025 Princess Grace Award. Her plays include Arab Spring (World Premiere: Golden Thread Productions; Finalist: O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Rainin Fellowship), BABA (Winner: Theatre Bay Area “Best Original Script”; SFBATCC “Best New Play” & “Best Solo Show”), The Weight of an Orange (The Playwrights’ Revolution, Capital Stage) and Naguib Mahfuz Was Stabbed in the Neck and Almost Died (Finalist: Sundance Theatre Lab). Her children’s book Zaynab’s Night of Destiny, an audio immersive experience for young audiences, toured throughout Kentucky public schools and was supported by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Arts.
Denmo’s creative work has been produced and developed by Audible, Round House Theatre, Williamston Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Noor Theatre, The Civilians R&D Series, Amphibian Stage, Alter Theatre, Shotgun Players, Golden Thread, and Crowded Fire.
As an educator, she has led workshops in storytelling and ensemble devised theatre at Harvard University, University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin, and LOYAC in Kuwait. She currently serves as Chair of the MENA Theatre Makers Alliance (MENATMA), a national coalition advancing visibility and equity for SWANA artists. Denmo holds an MFA from Naropa University and a BFA from Boston University. denmoibrahim.com
Sherrine Azab
Director
Sherrine Azab
(she/her) is the Co-Director of the Detroit-based theater company A Host of People, which creates dynamic original multi-media theater for social change. She is a theater maker and director focused on creating new works, as well as a producer and educator who has worked nationally and internationally in cities such as Detroit, Seattle, New York, Berlin, and others. Sherrine holds a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle and a postgraduate certificate from the Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance at Wesleyan University. She was a member of the 2008 Lincoln Center Director’s Lab, a 2017-18 UMS Artist-in-Residence, and a 2018 Kresge Arts in Detroit Fellow. In addition to numerous directing credits with A Host of People and other theaters, she has also worked with the Arab American National Museum, New Arab American Theater Works, Wayne State University, The Foundry Theatre (NYC), the Network of Ensemble Theaters, Pink Fang (formerly Ping Chong + Co, NYC), as well as Target Margin Theater (NYC) of which she is a proud Associate Artist. Woven into her artistic and theater life is ongoing training in practices and subjects that intersect and support art for social change, such as Emergent Strategy, Restorative Practice, and equity in civic life. She is a TimeSlips Certified Facilitator and a proud board member of the MENA Theater Makers Alliance.