Death is a lot like life – there’s a lot of waiting. With infinity stretching out in front of you, it can be hard to figure out how to break up your time, how to properly delineate the march of forever.
Death Cafe is an ensemble work that imagines an afterlife which is more or less a continuation of the most tedious parts of life – a hell without fire or brimstone. Inspired in part by No Exit and in part by Cafe Muller, Death Cafe is the place where everybody loiters when they die.
Trapped for eternity in an enclosed space, a cast of mismatched characters will be forced to encounter each other without the convenience of an exit, allowing the hidden dramas that get glossed over in life to bubble to the surface in death. Whether it be the awkward reckoning of a relationship gone stale, the orgasmic fruition of a secret desire, or the uncertain tension of a drawn-out sob-fest, those present will constantly be faced with a reversal of the adage – that in death, you can’t escape life.
Premiere: New Blue Emerging Dance Festival, June 2017 (Toronto)
Additional Presentation: Dance Matters, February 2018 (Toronto)
Performers: Karissa Fyrrar, Willard Gillard, Jen Hum, Marlowe Porter, Lauren Runions, Marley Rosen, Sarah Reid (NBEDF), Brian Postalian (NBEDF), Jenn Edwards (DM), Rufi Rodriguez (DM)
gallery: Dance Matters, top: Zahra Saleki