STG Commission of New ZOE | JUNIPER & XIU XIU Piece Will Have World Premiere in Seattle

The new collaborative work tell the truth and shame the devil by dance and visual art company zoe | juniper and punk band Xiu Xiu, commissioned by Seattle Theatre Group (STG), will have its world premiere next week in Seattle on May 17 and 18, 2025, at The Moore Theatre. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at www.stgpresents.org and in person at The Paramount Theatre Box Office at 911 Pine Street in Downtown Seattle.  

Media tickets are available to both performances. Please email rachell@stgpresents.org by noon on Wednesday, May 14 to RSVP.

tell the truth and shame the devil is an evening-length live music and dance performance choreographed and directed by Zoe Scofield, with visuals by Juniper Shuey, and music by Jamie Stewart and Hyunhye Seo (Xiu Xiu). It uses The Crucible, a psychological thriller, as a lens for dissecting the pervasiveness of misogyny, the backlash against the MeToo movement, the insidious virus of patriarchy, and Jordan Peele’s horror films. This show contains partial nudity, depictions of violence, and adult themes. Viewer discretion is advised.

This new collaboration is performed live by Xiu Xiu and features dancers Mandolin Burns, Aden Hurst, Caitlin Javech, Melody Morrow, and Zoe Scofield and collaborations by dramaturge Mikhaela Mahony, choreography by Zoe Scofield, text and creative consulting by Dahlak Brathwaite, costumes by Kaye Voyce, video projection design by Juniper Shuey, set by Jennifer Zeyl, lighting by Ryan Dunn, and puppets by Joe Seely. Seattle-based artists and creators working on this project include Jennifer Zeyl (Artistic Director of Intiman Theatre) and Ryan Dunn (Pacific Northwest Ballet, Velocity Dance Center, On the Boards).

This is the third major commission by STG, following 2024’s “Leviticus or Love and to walk amongst HUMANS (Book I)” by dani tirrell and The Congregation, and 2019’s “The Sun Burns Here” by Kate Wallich and Perfume Genius. In addition to funding, a major STG commission includes two residency periods at The Moore Theatre in Seattle.

STG is committed to leveraging its size, reach, and long history of presenting everything from modern dance to stand-up comedy to rock bands, to commission artists to make exciting new work that blur the boundaries of style and genre. zoe | juniper, which was founded in Seattle, have long been making innovative, interesting, and beautiful performance work, combining dance and theatrical performance with sculpture, video, lighting installations and other creative production elements to make wonderfully intriguing shows. The band, Xiu Xiu, have similarly been making bold, cutting-edge, fearlessly experimental music for over two decades.