The Anthropologists to Launch NYC Tri Borough Tour of AXES, HERBS & SATCHELS

The Anthropologists, a women-led, NYC-based investigative theater company is launching the tri borough NYC tour of their devised play "axes, herbs & satchels: open the archives" following acclaimed stops in Indiana, Florida, and New Jersey. The tour begins at JACK in Brooklyn from May 16-19, continues with a Washington Heights performance at Hebrew Tabernacle on May 1, and culminates at Tiffany Street Theater at Inspiration Point in the Bronx on May 9 & 10.

When Kamara, a journalist, loses a sister to childbirth, she seeks the Black midwife wisdom that might have saved her. What follows is a journey through the past to reclaim the future. The Anthropologists' artistic director Melissa Moschitto and co-director Sandie Luna helm an ensemble of Black women who shine a light on the suppressed history of Black midwives, doulas, and birthing bodies with expressive movement and storytelling, immersive interaction, and a visual installation by Annabelle Páez.

"Surprisingly funny. Unapologetic edutainment. Anyone who has ever been a patient will recognize the feelings of powerlessness and futility that clinics engender." - Jersey City Times

"axes, herbs & satchels: open the archives" is an act of reparative history that invites communal learning, reckoning, and healing. Developed through extensive ethnographic research, primary sources, and personal accounts, this stunning new investigative theater piece celebrates traditional knowledge held in the Black birth worker community and potently examines maternal mortality. The play was also developed in partnership with the American Anthropological Association, which established the company's first anthropologist-in-residence, Dr. Haile Eshe Cole. The current anthropologist-in-residence is Nadia N. Mbonde.

BROOKLYN

JACK, 20 Putnam Ave, Brooklyn 11238

7:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 16

7:00 p.m. Thursday, April 17

7:00 p.m. Friday, April 18

3:00 p.m. Saturday, April 19

7:00 p.m. Saturday, April 19

JACK tickets: https://theanthropologists.ludus.com/200480687

MANHATTAN

Hebrew Tabernacle, 551 Fort Washington Ave (Washington Heights) 10033

7:00 p.m. Thursday, May 1

Hebrew Tabernacle Tickets: https://theanthropologists.ludus.com/200480690

BRONX

Tiffany Street Theater at Inspiration Point, 710 Tiffany Street, East Bronx, Bronx, New York 10474

7:00 p.m. Friday, May 9

7:00 p.m. Saturday, May 10

12:00 p.m. Sunday May 11