Photo Flash: Sideshow Theatre's TILIKUM Makes World Premiere At Victory Gardens Theater

Sideshow Theatre Company is pleased to conclude its eleventh season with the world premiere of Kristiana Rae Colón's spectacular and fearless indictment TILIKUM, directed by Lili-Anne Brown, playing June 22 - July 29, 2018 at Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at www.victorygardens.org, by calling (773) 871-3000 or in person at the Victory Gardens Box Office. The press opening is Thursday, June 28 at 8 pm.

TILIKUM features Sideshow ensemble member Matt Fletcher* with Gregory Geffrard and Sigrid Sutter.

Tilikum was a king, and the oceans of the world were his. Now, he is a captive in a marine amusement park, doomed to live as an opportunity for profit. Alone behind bars he forgets the feel of freedom, but when fellow prisoners ignite the fires of his memory, he starts down a path that threatens to consume everything. Ripped from the headlines, Kristiana Rae Colón's Tilikum explores captivity, violence and rebellion in a vital and visceral blend of theatre, drumming and dance. Poetic and lyrical, Tilikum calls out the power structures - both corporate and human - that ensure continued oppression, and the complicity of those willing to stand by and do nothing.

Comments Sideshow Artistic Director Jonathan L. Green, "Tilikum will be a spectacular, heart-pounding experience. When we commissioned this play through our Freshness Initiative program, we knew that the work would be fiercely political with a wicked sense of humor, and still we were blown away when the first draft came in. Kristiana Rae Colón is one of the most essential voices in playwriting right now, and we consider ourselves lucky to be presenting this world premiere."

The production team for TILIKUM includes: William Boles* (scenic design), Izumi Inaba (costume design), Jared Gooding (lighting design), Victoria Deiorio (sound design), Amy Peters (properties design), Paul Deziel (projections designer), Coco Elysses (composer, music director), Melissa F. DuPrey (composer, musician), Joyce Liza Rada Lindsey (musician), Noelle Simone (choreographer), Isaac Gomez (dramaturg), Chad Hain (technical director), Benjamin W. Dawson* and Ellen Willett* (production managers) and Savannah Clements (stage manager).

Photo Credit: Jonathan L. Green