Theater Mitu (announced today an extension for the world premiere of Remnant. Created by collaborating artists Rubén Polendo, Justin Nestor, Denis Butkus, Michael Littig, Scott Spahr, Corey Sullivan, Ada Westfall, Kayla Asbell, Attilio Rigotti, Alex Hawthorn, and Xiao Quan, and directed by Rubén Polendo, Remnant begins performances at MITU580 (580 Sackett St, Brooklyn, NY 11217) on Friday, August 24 and will now play an extended run through Friday, September 21, 2018.
"War is inevitable - but there are miracles. Every day millions of people die, yet we live as if death will never touch us." -St. Vyasa, The Mahabharata
These words sit at the heart of one of the greatest epic poems- a meditation on war, death, and loss. Its core question is of a particular resonance: what should we fight for and why?
Over the past three years, in an attempt to understand this exact question, Theater Mitu has gathered hours of interviews with a range of communities worldwide: current and past members of military forces; citizens who have been directly affected by war; people diagnosed with terminal illness and their families; doctors, nurses, police, spiritual leaders, scholars, teachers, mental health professionals, and artists. As they touch upon, come to the edge of, and often confront death, each interview becomes a portrait of what is left behind - a remnant.
The result is a new work- part performance, part visual art installation. Engaging Theater Mitu's interdisciplinary practice, this piece interjects interviews with found text, technology, and image. In Remnant, the stage is no longer a static place of representation, but one of polyvocal transmission. Building upon the style developed by the company in Juárez (2014), the performers challenge the idea of character and narrative, and instead become potent transmitters of image and voice.
Composed of three simultaneous performance installations, experienced entirely on headphones, and featuring original songs and live music, Remnant invites audiences to witness and affirm how loss can scar us, shape us, and at times propel us towards change-towards understanding what we should fight for and why.
The piece will be the first show to open in MITU580, Theater Mitu's new arts space in Gowanus, Brooklyn. After a seven-year residency at the NYU Abu Dhabi Arts Center in the Middle-East, Theater Mitu has transformed an old warehouse into a new multi-use arts venue, solidifying it as a major voice in this burgeoning arts-focused area of New York City.
Due to the unique nature of this production, tickets are limited to only 60 per performance. Tickets are $25 General Admission, $15 for Students and Artists, and can be purchased at www.artful.ly. Tickets are still available for the post-show roundtable discussions on Wednesday, August 29th and Friday, August 31st only, and can be added to the price of any ticket for $20.
The performance schedule for Remnant is as follows: Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30pm; Friday-Saturday at 8pm; Saturday-Sunday at 3pm.
Videos