The new piece, which combines opera and poetry with original live music, projected films and images, collages of spoken text and pre-recorded soundscapes, was conceived and directed by Michael Comlish and based on the book of the same name by poet Anna Rabinowitz. According to press notes, Rabinowitz’s book was inspired by a shoebox filled with old letters and photos, which she found on a shelf in her parents home. Haunted by the materials, she began to write poems based on them. Comlish took the book and shaped it into a stage piece that he hopes will "convey the fragmentary nature of memory and the impact of loss."
"Darkling did not start out as a work I thought of in theatrical terms," said Rabinowitz in a statement, "but nothing could be more dramatic than the ways in which Michael has embodied those voices and faces I encountered in the shoebox. I believe that nothing is more dramatic than life itself, and this production honors life by retrieving the dead."
Tickets are $30-$45. Call (212) 279-4200.