(IR)REPARABLE to be Presented by Burning Bones Physical Theatre At Windmill Arts

Burning Bones Physical Theatre will present the premiere of “(Ir)Reparable,” a butoh-based evening of dance and physical theatre created by Burning Bones artistic director Frankie Worster Mulinix (they/them). The show runs September 12-14 & 18-20 at Windmill Arts.

How can love and hope persist when everything is broken and all the world seems beyond repair? “(Ir)Reparable” is an elegiac hallucination of contemporary chaos and cruelty, an alchemical transformation of our collective collapse, and a defiant incantation of justice and resilient joy. Embodying the abyss of our latest mass descent into madness and dissolution, Mulinix and the company members of Burning Bones move within the grief, rage, and despair of all souls who yearn for a world of justice and joy. 

Mulinix created “(Ir)Reparable” as a response to our present horrors and afflictions, drawing on inspiration from other artists who were responding to the tragedies of their own times. These included: W.B. Yeats' poem “The Second Coming,” written in the aftermath of World War One. Ariel Dorfman's play Death and the Maiden, written during the last days of the Chilean military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. And bell hooks' book All About Love, a series of reflections on love in the late 20th century. 

“Butoh is a tradition uniquely well suited to the nightmares of our time,” says Mulinix. “Often called ‘the dance of darkness,' butoh was born in Japan during the aftermath of World War Two, an embodiment of the collapse of what had once seemed sure and true. Butoh quickly spread across Europe and beyond, to wherever artists were struggling to respond to the war's unveiled horrors of humanity. Nearly a century later, butoh continues to open portals into the shadows of our souls, giving expression to the grotesque and bestial within and all around us. It is both a timeless conduit, and, I think, particularly timely today.” 

Directed and choreographed by Mulinix in collaboration with the dancers, this production of “(Ir)Reparable” features musical compositions by Ptar (he/him) and lighting design by Lindsey Sharpless (she/her), with butoh performed by Thomas Bell (he/him), Sharon Carelock (she/her), Hiroko Kelly (she/her), Holly Stevenson (she/her), and Frankie Worster Mulinix (they/them). 

Content Warning: This production contains audio of gunshots and exploding bombs, sexual themes, use of the word “rape,” depictions of force feeding, and simulated blood.