My Barbarian: Double Future

Floor 3, Theater

Double Future is a double-bill performance that responds to the contemporary moment with prescient works that address class struggle and environmental collapse.

As the final act of their survey exhibition at the Whitney, My Barbarian returns to early explorations of mask work and classical theater forms. You Were Born Poor and Poor You Will Die (Performa 05 at Participant Inc., 2005) combines ancient Greek theater, mystery plays, and rock opera to tell the story of a religious cult engaging in human sacrifice to maintain the economic status quo. Silver Minds (Aspen Art Museum, 2005) employs conventions of Noh theater, New Wave music, and science fiction in a series of ghost stories about climate change and resource extraction, told from the point of view of tourists who time travel to the past to enjoy nature, which no longer exists.

Presented in two acts as Double Future at REDCAT, Los Angeles in 2006, this new edition features new masks (and new commentary by the group) as they re-perform works they created almost two decades ago. Performed as a sung and spoken-word recital with musical accompaniment, the members of My Barbarian—Malik Gaines, Jade Gordon, and Alexandro Segade—are joined by musicians Tomas Fujiwara on drums, Ethan Philbrick on cello, and RaShonda Reeves on keyboards.

February 24, February 25*, and February 26
7 pm

Runtime: 90 minutes with a 15-minute intermission

Read the performance libretto.