PORTLAND — Mayo Street Arts and Maine Irish Heritage Center will co-present Bread and Puppet Theater in Portland on Tuesday, Nov. 12. Recognized around the globe for its political theater since the 1960s, this Glover, Vermont-based theater company aims to keep its work as up-to-the-minute and relevant as possible, resulting in work which is constantly changing.
Held at the Maine Irish Heritage Center, the evening will feature two shows directed by Bread and Puppet co-founder and Artistic Director J. Peter Schumann, crafted for this exact moment in time: “The Possibilitarian Imperative Everything Show”, followed by “Gray Lady Cantata #9”.
The word “possibilitarian” is a Marc Estrin translation of Robert Musil’s term “möglichkeitsmensch” from his novel about the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, “The Man Without Qualities”. The term was invigorated in the 1980s in response to the UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s remark about capitalism, “there is no alternative.” Bread and Puppet Theater continues to respond, “there are a thousand alternatives!”
“Gray Lady Cantata #9” continues as a series of shows originally made in the 1960s and 1970s in response to the Vietnam War. This new iteration features texts from Palestinians living through the war in Gaza. With the iconic gray lady puppets from the original production moving through vignettes both dreamlike and brutal, “Gray Lady Cantata #9” offers meditations on grief, war, and resistance.
As always, Bread and Puppet shows will include puppets large and small, music, up-to-the-minute politics, and spectacles not to be missed. As their tradition, Bread and Puppet will serve their famous sourdough rye bread with aioli to show attendees immediately following the performance. Bread & Puppet “Cheap Art” – books, posters, postcards, pamphlets and banners from the Bread & Puppet Press – will be for sale as well.
Tickets are $20 at the door and in advance through the Maine Irish Heritage Center website (www.maineirish.com).
No one will be turned away for lack of funds, a pay-what-you-can option will be available at the door. Showtime is 7 p.m., doors open at 6:30 p.m. at the Maine Irish Heritage Center (formerly St. Dominic’s Catholic Church) at 34 Gray Street in Portland.
