Cicadas can survive underground for seven years, somehow sensing the time to emerge.

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In a disintegrating house whipped by whirlwinds and the dust of dying rivers, Cid has been living in the basement for seven years – stuck in nymph stage since the childhood accident that has left his family tip-toeing through stunted lives and abandoned dreams.

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And there's something hiding in the basement of Cid's brain that wants to surface. It has to do with the old collection of cicada shells that line his bedroom wall, and it's compounded by the arrival of a girl with a bleeding head, and a giant insect that won't leave him alone. 

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Like the cicada's song, the truth is approaching from the distant summery background to a deafening reality and wants to change their lives forever. But is now the right time? Is Cid listening? And why is his brother trying to stop him? Will the family be left behind or join the metamorphosis?  

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Written while one of six emerging writers with Queensland Theatre Company throughout 2003, The Cicada Movement was further developed throughout 2006 at Metro Arts.