The Booth Variations

In The Booth Variations, Edwin Booth struggles to forge an identity separate from his infamous brother in a video performance. Eleven months after Wilkes shoots Abraham Lincoln, Booth takes the stage as Hamlet and allows a post-war audience the voyeuristic thrill of seeing Wilkes’ brother kill another king. His search for personal identity reflects that of America’s own artistic soul, as the career of this tragedian was propelled to unimaginable heights of international stardom following his brother’s infamous act.