A Generation Returns: Where National Memory Meets the World Stage is a powerful new ensemble work by Paul Percy that re-examines the legacy of the First World War through a contemporary youth lens.

Rather than reconstructing history, The Ground Remembers Us places 18-20 year-olds within its ongoing consequences, exploring how conflict continues to shape identity, language, and behaviour across generations. At the same age as those who left New Zealand for Flanders in 1917, the performers question what it means to inherit unresolved histories and whether repetition is too often mistaken for progress.

Through a dynamic fusion of text, movement, and collective storytelling, the work balances reflection with urgency. Presented on an international stage and in proximity to the landscapes where this history unfolded, the performance creates a meaningful dialogue between past and present, local and global, asking audiences to consider not just what was, but what endures.