F

F takes its audience on a journey through humanity's capacity for creation and destruction, a journey that is at once frightening and fantastic. F is a cautionary tale about a frozen world where man-made technology drives our relationship to everything we experience, including our senses and souls, and poses questions that are full of humanity. How do soldiers returning from war reconcile the horror of titanium limbs with their fragmented psyches? How do we take responsibility for the ongoing and incessant trauma we inflict on our bodies? What is our fate?

Though the piece draws its inspiration from literary sources, F is not a literal retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or of Prometheus mythology. Instead, the work addresses larger issues of creation and responsibility (the substance of both Frankenstein and the myth Prometheus, where men interfered with nature without considering the dire consequences) by adopting a multilayered approach and using three distinct characters: the Monster and the Doctor (both inspired by Frankenstein), and a third, modern character named the Cyborg. These three characters embody different aspects of the issues of creation of life and the tragedy of consciousness that lie at F's core: the creator (the Doctor), the created (the Monster), and the destroyed and re-created (the Cyborg).

This multilayered approach extends to the construction of the piece itself. Disembodied voices deliver the poignant and poetic text by playwright Elizabeth Dancoes, their streams of interwoven speech capturing the struggles of the three conflicted characters. Barbara Bourget's choreography gives physical life to the text, while Tony Wilson's electro-acoustic soundscape renders the substance of the text into music. Video by filmmaker Matilda Aslizadeh offers a cinematic depiction of the characters' journeys, made all the more disturbing and enigmatic when altered by visual effects editor Paul Furminger.

As a whole, F takes its audience on a journey through humanity's capacity for creation and destruction, a journey that is both wondrous and horrific.

Inspired by: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein & Prometheus mythology
Choreographer: Barbara Bourget
Playwright: Elizabeth Dancoes
Composer: Tony Wilson
Lighting Designer: Gerald King
Set Designer: Peter Eastwood
Videographer: Matilda Aslizadeh
Length of work: Approx. 70 Minutes

For more information about touring, please contact Jay Hirabayashi at jayh[at]kokoro.ca