Professor Alice Roberts explores the deep-time history of our species, from its molecular origins to the first civilisations, in her science stage show.
Professor Alice Roberts brings her stage show From Cell to Civilisation to the Princess Theatre on Sunday 28 February 2027, starting at 7:30pm. It's a long-view history of our species, and it doesn't stop at the usual philosophical questions about where we come from. Instead, Roberts works with the hard evidence of our past, drawing on evolutionary biology and genetics to trace the biological lineage of humanity back to its molecular beginnings some 3.8 billion years ago.
From there, the show follows the physical and cultural expansion of our ancestors as they moved out of Africa and settled across the globe, continuing until the first civilisations emerge. It's a huge stretch of time to cover in one evening, and Roberts tells it through science, using the theatre's light, sound and visual possibilities to bring the story to life on stage. If you've ever wondered how we actually got from single cells to cities, this is that story in a single sitting.
Roberts is an anthropologist, anatomist, author and broadcaster, and a Professor of Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham. She's been a regular on screen since the early 2000s, fronting programmes like Fortress Britain, Origins of Us and Coast across the BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky, so she's well-practised at taking complex science and making it work for a general audience.
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Tickets start from £43.68, and the show runs at the Princess Theatre in Torquay on Sunday 28 February 2027 at 7:30pm.
