Blind
BLIND is an internationally acclaimed collaboration between Black Hole Theatre and the Duda Paiva Co.(NL). First developed in Melbourne in 2014, with support from Theatre Works, the show draws on both artists’ personal experiences of disability and the social stigmas they endured, to explore a disabled mans journey toward self-acceptance. As a child in Brazil, Duda suffered a an illness that blistered his body and left him blind for many years. His surreal path toward healing involved both shamanic and western medicine. Using puppetry, dance, and referencing music and shamanic rituals from the Yoruba, a unique Afro-Brazilian subculture, BLIND weaves a rich, metaphorical tapestry. It is funny as well as moving. Often engaging the audience as representatives of the wider world, it subtly seeks and finds the political through intimacy. Building on its successful presentations in Europe, Australia, Russia and China since 2015, BLIND will be presented at La Mama, NYC November 8-11, 2018.
Concept: Nancy Black, Duda Paiva
Director: Nancy Black
Performer: Duda Paiva
Music and Sound: Wilco Alkema
Lighting: Mark Verhoef
Puppets and Choreography: Duda Paiva
Production: Co-produced by Duda Paiva Company [NL], Black Hole Theatre [AUS], Nordland Visual Theatre [NO], Festival Mondial des Théâtres de Marionnettes [FR].
ARTICLES & REVIEWS:
The Age (Article by Sonia Harford) – 18 January 2016
The Age (Reviewed by Anne-Marie Peard) – 14 March 2016
The project was made possible through financial support from the Performing Arts Fund NL.
"It's as delightful as it is heartbreaking and too beautiful to define."
- ****The Age - March 14, 2016
In Blind, the illusion and animation are used obliquely to explore the psychology of sickness and explode our notions of attraction and repulsion. Blind is a sophisticated, imaginative, rich and penetrating piece.
- The Australian - March 11, 2016
It is a work about healing on a deep shamanistic level… and, leaves one feeling elevated and joyful.
