Aether

'Beauty, to us physicists, means something we've never seen before.'

An existential PhD student hunting dark matter collides with:



- A disillusioned illusionist

- A teenage medium with a secret

- A murdered mathematician

- A trailblazing astronomer 

Together, they shed new light on the greatest unsolved mystery of the universe. 

Witty, ingenious and daringly theatrical, Emma Howlett's Aether explores physics, faith and magic in a play that tracks humanity's insatiable fascination with the unknown.

Aether was first performed at Summerhall during the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It received widespread critical acclaim and was named Best Theatre Show of the Fringe by the Telegraph. It transferred to Jermyn Street Theatre, London, in 2026.

'Emma Howlett is a superstar... the most exciting new auteur in theatre'London Standard



Emma Howlett is Artistic Director of award-winning company theatregoose. Her other work as both writer and director includes Her Green Hell and Sisters Three. She was named as one of The Stage's Fringe Five in 2025.



'Funny, slick and fiendishly clever'



'A high-energy, beautifully-presented inquiry into the mysteries of the universe... subversive and powerful... successful, inspired, and wonderful in equal measure'



'Intellectually fizzing'



'A smart feminist take on the mysteries of the physical universe and the eternal limits of science... Howlett, who also directs, has built a fluid, ever-shifting production that spins her ideas with a dazzling lightness of touch... a collage of truth and illusion, one that embraces the existential fear of always having more to learn about an evasive universe... Aether is never less than accomplished'



'A tour de force of theatre... sheer brilliance'



'A head-spinningly clever meditation on quantum physics, humanity's obsession for discovery and history's habit of forgetting female scientists... the smartest hour of theatre at the [Edinburgh] festival'



'Strikingly original, with flashes of genius'



'A thrilling exploration of the theatrical medium... Howlett's writing is inspired... razor-sharp and ingenious at every possible moment... she squeezes in intellectual jokes that everyone can enjoy... this is a play you won't stop thinking about for a very long time... truly remarkable'



'Full of wit and wonder'



'Intelligent, engaging and hugely likeable... revelatory and wholly original'