Poem and Direction by Lee Breuer
Puppetry Direction & Design by Basil Twist
Music by Ushio Torikai
Produced by Mabou Mines in association with the Skirball Center
Co-Commissioned and Presented by the Skirball Center
Part of the Skirball Insider Program
A large-scale, multi-disciplinary performance that uses ancient Japanese dance styles, contemporary original music, and modern experimental puppets to explore an enduring literary theme: the coming of age story. Based on a Russian folktale in which a girl is promised her mother’s necklace on her 13th birthday, Red Beads is a symbolic narrative that marks the struggle between a daughter’s ascension into womanhood and her mother’s corresponding demise.
Obie award-winning and experimental theater company Mabou Mines teams up with the brilliant young puppeteer Basil Twist, Japanese composer Ushio Torikai, and two dozen NYU students to create a production that literally defies gravity. Much of the action takes place in the air with flying cast-members and giant silk puppets. Like the cast of Red Beads, Prepare to be uplifted!
