OCTOPUS'S GARDEN
About the show.
A man enlists the town madwoman to help him recover his memory at the seashore. He encounters the ghosts of his ancestors emerging from the rupture of authoritarian violence, inviting him to dream again.
Artistic Director Javier Antonio González re-imagines Arístides Vargas’s celebrated work of political theatre in its first English translation. The ensemble production is infused with original compositions by Puerto Rican composer and ethnomusicologist Pilli Aponte.
2019 August Target Margin Theater, Brooklyn, NY
Written by Arístides Vargas
Directed by Javier Antonio González
2019 Cast
Brooke Bell • Laura Butler Rivera • Yan Collazo • Yaraní Del Valle Piñero • Tania Molina • Pelé Sánchez Tormes • David Skeist
Translation by Aurora Lauzardo
Original music by Pilli Aponte
Set by Jian Jung
Lights and Projections by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew
Costumes by Cristina Fitch
Sound by Keenan Hurley
Additional Original Music by David Skeist
Producers Jenny Tibbels and Yaremis Félix
Stage Manager Alejandra Maldonado
Photo by Marcos Toledo
Photo by Marcos Toledo
Photo by David Gasser
Photo by Marcos Toledo
Photo by Marcos Toledo
Photo by Marcos Toledo
Photo by Marcos Toledo
Photo by David Gasser
Photo by Marcos Toledo
What People Are Saying
“Javier González tiene un dominio magnífico del lenguaje visual. Durante toda la obra me encontré más interesado en cómo González manifestaba sus ideas con poderosos golpes teatrales. En un momento, el personaje de José le dice a Antonia que están presenciando un amanecer.”
— Recondo, Juan, “Octopus’s Garden” Reseña, PERIODICO CLARIDAD, August, 2019
“La combinación del diseño escénico a manos de Jian Jung y la iluminación de Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew transformaron efectivamente el interior de una estructura urbana nuyorkina en la orilla de esa playa del recuerdo. [Los actores] también participaron activamente en esta transformación. Los vestuarios sencillos a manos de Cristina Fitch cubrían a cada actor en una cotidianeidad que estos desafiaban magistralmente con su lenguaje corporal.”
— Recondo, Juan, “Octopus’s Garden” Reseña, PERIODICO CLARIDAD, August, 2019