Severance

Modern literature comes to life on stage as The Brimmer Street Theatre Company & New Renaissance Theatre present the world premiere adaptation of Severance, adapted from Severance: Stories, a collection of shorts by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Olen Butler.

An abstract tour of human history, Severance delves into the thoughts of the decapitated. The play and the stories told there-in are based on the premise that the human head lives for ninety seconds after the moment of separation, and that in that final moment the mind continues to remember, ponder, and regret. The infamously beheaded, from Cicero to Marie Antoinette, Jayne Mansfield to John the Baptist, join a cast of victims from across time and humanity to present a bittersweet account of life on Earth, and the inescapable moment of death.

Severance is an ensemble-based production merging abstract staging, dance, music and design to provide a striking profile of human history. David Jette directs.

Friday, March 9: Post-performance discussion with Robert Olen Butler.

A Pay-What-You-Can preview is scheduled for March 1st. The “Pay-What-You-Can” option is available for phone orders only.