Scars of war never disappear. It is April 2017, Easter Sunday, and I am thinking about the fact that a week ago, the centennial of the US' engagement in the Great War passed without much fanfare or reflection. That the US marked the occasion by dropping what has been termed "the Mother of All Bombs" on Afghanistan is on beyond ironic when we consider that that first big war of the 20th Century was meant to be "the war to end all wars." 99 years since the Armistice was called, world powers, the US especially, are still war-hungry, consuming resource after resource, burping out toxicity and trauma.
Perhaps it is timely then, that David Higgins and I are revisiting Over the Top, our World War One play with a game and a snack for the audience, graciously given a slot in the Wilbury Group's Festival of New Works. The work is ambitious, stitching together a play that David wrote about 8 years ago with some games that we play with the audience and a durational performance action attempting to account for every casualty of the Great War. Overall the work is intended to serve as a living memorial, one that demands our physical labor and attention rather than an obelisk rendered in granite or marble.
We hope you can join us as we attempt this newest iteration, fresh with new cards, added video and the introduction of snack food, on Wednesday April 26 at 7:30pm. Entry is PWYC (Pay-What-You-Can) and we are performing at the Wilbury Group's home theatre in the Southside Cultural Center in Providence. Your fearless readers include Jim Sullivan, Vince Petronio, Kate Lester, Robyn Geogan Noble, Stuart Window, Corinne Walhberg, Nate Talbutt, and David Higgins.
For more information about the process and the play's history, find us HERE.
Hope to see you in the theatre.
