Follow Your Leaders explores the dark side of power, inspired by the 1978 Jonestown tragedy. Using real soundscapes and archival imagery, it examines how individuals surrender autonomy to leaders and groupthink, creating structures of control with fatal consequences. Through film, music, and theatre, it presents the physical realities of death and manipulation, highlighting the devastating cost of blind allegiance. The performance prompts reflection on authority and the societal forces that drive submission, inviting audiences to consider the consequences of these dynamics in both past and present contexts.

Follow Your Leaders examines the dark side of power, inspired by the 1978 Jonestown tragedy. Blending film, music, and theatre, the performance uses real soundscapes and archival imagery from the event to explore themes of leadership, control, and blind allegiance. The piece delves into the mechanisms through which individuals surrender autonomy to charismatic leaders and collective groupthink. It highlights how these dynamics create power structures that distort reality and strip individuals of agency, often with fatal consequences. By presenting the physical realities of death and the impact of manipulation, the work draws attention to the human cost of such systems. Through its interplay of sound, visuals, and audience interaction, Follow Your Leaders invites reflection on the nature of authority and the societal forces that compel individuals toward submission and conformity. It leaves viewers to consider the consequences of these forces in both historical and contemporary contexts.

Name: Gary Mallard from Alumna Infractible
Born — Location: England - Georgia

I broke out of my national culture—call it a death cycle disguised as tradition. Same food, same rules, same polite misery. Lucky for me, I had a passport that said, “Try fucking up somewhere else!” So, I hit the road, producing music and art events around the world in places where people think outside the box—hell, where they sometimes don’t even have a box.

I broke out of the national culture penitentiary, where I was doing hard time for the crime of being born in the wrong place. You know the kind of place: same boring food, same boring politics, and everyone’s in the same boring loop pretending it’s all perfectly fine. It wasn’t fine. It was a death cycle, and I wanted out. Lucky me, I had the golden ticket—a passport that says, “Go ahead, fuck up somewhere else.” So, I hit the road. Now I get to live, work, and stir up trouble all over the planet. Producing music and art events in places where people think outside the box—hell, where they don’t even have a box. Turns out, the world’s a lot bigger and weirder when you step off your own little island. And I wouldn’t trade that for all the cups of tea and polite smiles in the world.