The Catastrophic Theatre’s 2021-2022 Season of Plays
4.48 Psychosis
by Sarah Kane
“They will love me for that which destroys me.”
The Catastrophic Theatre returns with the playwright whose body of work prompted the terms “an ethics of catastrophe” and “a theatre of extremes.” The title of Sarah Kane’s final play refers to the time at which the brain’s chemical imbalance is at its peak, when desperation visits, bringing with it an alarming sense of clarity. 4.48 Psychosis is an unflinching look at clinical depression and the suicidal mind, infused with lyrical language and sardonic humor. More performance than play, the regional premiere of Sarah Kane’s magnum opus features renowned poet and performance artist T. Lavois Thiebaud and is directed by Catastrophic founding artistic director Jason Nodler, who introduced Houston audiences to Kane’s work with acclaimed productions of Phaedra’s Love and Crave. Catastrophic favorite Amy Bruce completes the cast.
November 19th – December 12th, 2021
Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston
All tickets are Pay-What-You-Can
They Do Not Move (The Harris County Serial Killer Beauty Pageant Murder Talent Show)
by Brian Jucha & The Catastrophic Theatre
The new interdisciplinary work by experimental director Brian Jucha in collaboration with Catastrophic Theatre utilizes found text, song, and stylized physicality. It is a roller coaster ride through our obsession with true crime. Gender, cancel culture, and Texas law feature prominently. There will be Serial Killers. There will be a Beauty Pageant. There will be a Talent Show. But the performance is also a love letter to Houston. Jucha, who specializes in creating performance pieces using Viewpoints, says the new piece will also question what we love about theater by studying some of the experimental masters like Peter Brook, Bertolt Brecht, Antonin Artaud and Jerzy Grotowski.
February 11th – March 6th, 2022
Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston
All tickets are Pay-What-You-Can
The Book of Grace
by Suzan-Lori Parks
“Sometimes the Alien is right in your own home. Sometimes right in your own blood. And you’ve got to build a wall around it.” Grace is a waitress who lives in a small border town in south Texas with her husband Vet, a border patrol agent. She encourages Vet’s troubled son Buddy to return home and reunite with his father in time for a celebration honoring Vet’s service. What ensues is a battle for power, revenge, and release from past traumas. In BOOK OF GRACE, Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, explodes the American family portrait to expose the borders and fences destroying the American home and by extension, the country.
April 1st – April 24th, 2022
Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston
All tickets are Pay-What-You-Can
Innominate
by Afsaneh Aayani
Innominate is a devised, experimental piece by Afsaneh Aayani. Dually inspired by Pablo Picasso’s painting, Guernica, and Iran’s Green Revolution, the production juxtaposes the terrible fate that innumerable innocents meet during war with the pervasive apathy of the majority that allows more of these tragedies to occur. Innominate will lead the audience on a surreal trip through reality with a destination of self-actualization that only each audience member individually can determine. Puppetry, mixed media, and choreography are integral components of this dance-theatre piece, which explores Aayani’s personal experience as an immigrant from a war-torn Iran.
May 27th – June 19th, 2022
Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston
All tickets are Pay-What-You-Can
Tamarie Cooper’s LIVE IN PERSON Sticky Sweet Summer Show!
Featuring BARE BEAR Dancers! Showgirls! Showpersons! Triple XXX (size costumes)! Plus a Totally Nude Rude Revue! Tamarie and her gang of merry misfits are returning to the stage for an all new, live, hilarious, and irreverent musical extravaganza featuring original songs and performances form some of Houston’s funniest artists. Tamarie’s 25th original musical(!) will explore, ponder, spoof, lament, and celebrate what it means to be alive and live in 2022 as a performer and human. A Houston summer tradition returns, sticky, sweet, and ready to rumble!
June 24th -August 7th, 2022
Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston
All tickets are Pay-What-You-Can