Getty Villa Theater Lab presents Cassandra, an Agony, a kinetic adaptation of the Greek myth of Cassandra, a woman gifted with knowledge of the future yet cursed never to be believed. Created by New York-based theater company Sinking Ship Productions, performances will take place at the Getty Villa on Saturday, April 30 at 1 and 4 p.m. and Sunday, May 1 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $7.
Cassandra knows the future. She can see disasters on the horizon. And no matter what she says or what she does, no one believes her. Her city will fall. Her family will die. And so will she. She could change it all if only anyone would listen. How does one person get the world to hear?
Cassandra shows up as a side character in numerous Greek texts, but never as the central figure. Sinking Ship draws on the works of Aeschylus, Euripides, Lycophron, Quintus Smyrnaeus and Tryphiodorus to weave their wholly original take on her story. Using contemporary language and dynamic physical performance, the piece asks the questions: How do we think about the future? How do we act?
Cassandra, an Agony is an original work of physical theater co-created by director
Jonathan Levin, playwright
Josh Luxenberg, performer Jin Maley, and performer/movement director
Nessa Norich. Past productions by Sinking Ship include the award-winning A Hunger Artist, The 7th Voyage of Egon Tichy, Powerhouse, and there will come soft rains.
"Cassandra's story feels especially resonant right now. So much of what is going on in the world feels like it could have been preventable, if we listened: to those who for decades have predicted climate disaster, to epidemiologists who tried to prepare us for pandemic, to political forecasters looking at the state of our democracy," said Levin. Luxenberg added, "We are not interested in creating a work to scold people for not listening when we should have been. We-the audience-identify with Cassandra herself: we heard the warnings, but despite our best efforts, we don't know what we can do to heed them."
In addition to Maley and Norich, the cast includes Jen Anaya and Anthony Nikolchev, with scenic design by
Kristen Robinson and sound design by
M. Florian Staab.
For over a decade Getty has hosted its Villa Theater Lab series, an exciting forum for the reinterpretation of classical theater. These workshops feature new translations of Greek and Roman plays as well as contemporary works inspired by ancient literature. Past performances have included After Iphigenia, Cowboy Elektra, MEDUSA: THE MUSICAL, and more.
This program may contain language and adult situations not suitable for children under 13.
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