In the near future, when A.I. has been given free reign, popularist politics rule the day and our societies are desensitised to what is real or not, and frankly, don’t really care, a reality TV show has begun to dominate the airwaves – The Little Sleep.

In this reality, crimes punishable by death include everything from going against the government-sanctioned “Moral Code” to treason and murder. The inmates on death row are unknowing participants in this new reality show where the viewing audience are their final judge and jury – deciding by public vote who will live and who will die. What appears to be government policy of allowing the public to self-regulate, is actually the government abdicating responsibility in an attempt to their hands clean.

Only one inmate will be given freedom to return to their life and win the season according to the public vote. To make that decision, the audience are given access to private conversations between the inmates and their wardens that were carried out via video link. How does that work? As it says on the disclaimer for The Little Sleep:

“INMATES ARE UNAWARE OF YOUR PRESENCE OR THIS PROGRAM. THESE VIDEOS ARE TAKEN FROM THEIR DAILY CONVERSATIONS VIA VIDEO LINK WITH THE WARDER OF THEIR PRISONS. ALL RIGHTS TO PRIVACY WERE WAIVED UPON THEIR CONVICTION. BE A GOOD CITIZEN. DO YOUR DUTY. BE LAWFUL. BE WARNED. MAKE OUR GLOBE GREAT AGAIN.”

Walking Shadows Vol. 3 is a commentary on the danger of seeing everything in black and white and not holding those in power to account. And a thought experiment about how, despite all our new tech available and the progressiveness we feel now drives the world, human beings still have within them the same urges and mob mentality that gave us the gladiator fights of ancient Rome or the witch hunts of the Middle Ages – as evidenced by recent political activity and governments around the world today.

Taking characters from fifteen of Shakespeare’s plays into a new imagining of what could happen if the world is complacent regarding politics, extreme views and new technology, this final season of the series, featuring Shakespeare’s characters in prison, is a cautionary tale for the 21st Century.

Walking Shadows Vol. 3 … everything old is new again …

Synopsis written November 2023 by Sally McLean