St. Ann's Warehouse to Livestream Simon McBurney's THE ENCOUNTER

St. Ann's Warehouse will stream Simon McBurney's The Encounter for free, available to the public on Friday, May 15 (2pm EST) through Friday, May 22 (5pm EST). A live discussion and public Q&A will take place on Wednesday, May 20 at 2:30pm EST (7:30pm BST) with Simon McBurney and guests.

Those interested in the Q&A can register here to join the discussion.

Click here to make a tax-deductible contribution to St. Ann's Warehouse.

Inspired by "Amazon Beaming," a novel by Petru Popescu, The Encounter is what happens when an American photojournalist, Loren McIntyre, happens on the mystical Mayoruna tribe in the Amazon Forest. Simon McBurney is our guide for what he calls "a walk across the brain." "... not a voyage into a heart of darkness but of enlightenment." (Ben Brantley, NY Times). McBurney performs all the roles (including the occasional insect) and live Foley effects to create the noises of the brush or river. He is supported by a genius binaural (3D) sound system designed by Gareth Fry with Peter Malkin.

All we need is our own set of earphones, which, as Brantley explains, as soon as we put them on, alters our sense of time and space. Is that Simon standing next to you? Now he's behind you, now in front, or whispering in your ear. "It's like twilight just before you fall asleep, when dreams and feelings of a day - or a lifetime - swirl in and out of focus, ending with a jolt, and an abrupt waking" at an early hour. I have experienced this over the past two months.

Just before we put on our earphones, Simon tells us that "empathy and proximity are connected." It is glorious to be reminded how good theater is at connecting - knowing we are part of an audience of sentient beings - able to emerge "exhausted, baffled, and invigorated." (Ben Brantley, NY Times) Bon Voyage! ...Susan Feldman, Artistic Director

Recommended for Ages 12+

To post a comment, you must register and login.