Hand2Mouth Presents DANSE MACABRE: THE TESTAMENT OF FRANÇOIS VILLON

In March, 2020, Danse Macabre was set to premiere. The stage was set, the lights were shining, the musicians were warming up their instruments on opening night, when the decision was made by the state to close all public gatherings due to the newly declared pandemic. After much loss, isolation, despair, and civil unrest, this show is set to premiere again and the themes are now more relevant than ever. This will be the first show to perform at the newly reconstituted ShoeBox theatre. This is a resurrection.

Danse Macabre: The Testament of François Villon is a one-person show with music and puppetry based on the autobiographical poem, The Testament by the 15th century French poet, revolutionary rabble-rouser, balladeer, thief, prototypical "protest singer," and a something of a medieval "rock star," François Villon. Villon's poetry and his wild lifestyle became an inspiration for several generations of poets, and he's become something of a patron saint for countless counter-cultural young artists and singers all over the world, most notably Bob Dylan and the underground dissident artists and singers in the former Eastern Europe.

The play features the French-American actor, Jean-Luc Boucherot as Villon performing in both English and French. Music for the play is created and performed by "Musica Universalis" a medieval music band, and it will feature an eerily heavy metal-sounding mixture of early and modern music performed on medieval instruments. As Villon is facing his own death, he recalls his wild and unruly life, rails against the oppressive society, contemplates the ravages of aging, makes amends, jokes around, performs his ballades, and confronts his own "alter ego" in the form of a mysterious and shadowy puppet-like creature created by Robert Amico and animated by Briana Ratterman.

Learn more at hand2mouththeatre.org/dansemacabre.

In addition to this performance, a gallery installation in the lobby will be curated by Creative Laureate, Joaquin Lopez & H2M company member, Michael Cavazos. The gallery will feature intergenerational BIPOC artists, Luna Flores (poet), Jose Ruiz Valentine and Manuel Villagran (graffiti artists/muralists) responding to the writings of Villon with a literary work and visual art.

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