Tom Oliver was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and after receiving a B.A in linguistics, began an MSc in cognitive science, which they disrupted in favour for a career as a curator and producer in performing arts. Between 2015 and 2019 they were co-founder and (co-) artistic director for the performance group Tlön. Their productions shifted from sensory laboratories in fantastical worlds, to knowledge-generating performances dealing with speculative futures. For the first two years, their productions were self-financed through experimental nightclubs, and from 2018 they received official funding. Alongside their own productions, Tom Oliver has continuously been active as a performer in the award-winning group Sister Hope (based in Copanhagen), which produces large scale performance installations in Scandinavian theatres, museums and schools. Currently, Tom Oliver is active in a non-profit organization aiming to transform companies to think beyond growth, and help support artists.

Research at DAS Theatre

Tom Oliver is focusing their research on constructing post-capitalist imaginaries in immersive landscapes. A central fantasy is imagining a society in which aesthetics and art, rather than infinite growth, were the leitmotif in all interaction and institution. Particularly, what would be the role of theatre in such a society? The research is founded in models from future studies, and receives inspiration from the emerging possibilities of AI-generated text and video to help disrupt and broaden imagination of both possible futures, and alternative pasts.