Imagine a room, both stark prison and exquisite library. An imprisoned war criminal lavishes through retirement. His is a space of reflection, reenactment, retching, and remembrance. He plants his stories into a pots and soil for the woman he will leave behind. She fills his dreams with music.

 

Throughout the play his words sprout, growing from one person’s voice to the voice of thousands. For his guests, the play celebrates the human ability to persist through hardship and move forward.

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The production explores the relationship between image and history. The actor takes on shapes of war, of violence, and fills them with stories of the animal kingdom and human banality and brutality. The stories, structured on the evils of Chile’s dictatorship, are scaffolding for universal experiences. The music grows us towards resolution and change, making sense of our pasts to offer new futures to those who come after us.

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The play was originally performed at Teatro de Bolsillo in Santiago de Chile in 2018 after being workshopped at In The Water’s Block Island retreat in 2017. The production moved to New York City as a part of In The Water’s Turtle Plays in November 2018. In New York the play was performed in English and Spanish on alternating nights.