A radical imaginary sci-fi story set in 2047 about survival, struggle and the people's liberation movement that made abolition possible.
In this multimedia masterpiece, puppets, video projection, and miniature sets collide to transport audiences to a future where prison abolitionists have created the conditions to end the prison industrial complex in the liberated lands formerly known as the U.S. and Mexico.
Set in 2047, this performance imagines abolition camps, formerly incarcerated people, families, and organizers working together in a fight to end all prisons, all rooted in the realities of modern-day United States and Puerto Rico.
Developed and performed by the visionary artists of Papel Machete, this project centers on community engagement with abolitionist organizations and currently and formerly incarcerated people and their families in an effort to create a vision of an abolitionist future. On the Eve of Abolition offers pathways to engage in real-time organizing toward the abolition of the prison industrial complex.
Through a partnership with Prison Radio, Papel Machete has engaged with political prisoners and currently incarcerated artists and accessed materials created by incarcerated people in Prison Radio’s archives.
Info
Venue
Emerson Paramount Center, Robert J. Orchard Stage
559 Washington Street Boston, MA 02111
Dates
Oct 31, 2024 - Nov 03, 2024
Special Offers
Details
80 minutes
Ages 12+ (adults with children welcome, please consider content warnings)
Group Sales available now
Play is bilingual (Spanish / English).
Content Warning:
Strong language, gun violence
Access
Audio Described Show
Sun, Nov 03 2:00 pm
American Sign Language Described Show
Sat, Nov 02 8:00 pm
Tickets
Related Events
OCT 15—NOV 09
Play Reading Book Club:
On the Eve of Abolition
Expand your theater experience through group dialogue and behind the scenes access to On the Eve of Abolition. Over the course of four weeks, we will read the play out loud, discuss the context, see the live performance, and be treated to a private reception with a creative producer for this production at ArtsEmerson.
Registration is free!
NOV 02
DRAPETOMANIA: FIREWATER Poetics On The Eve of Abolition opens the third annual season of FIREWATER Poetics, woven and MC’d by Letta Neely. This November 2, over 21 of this FIREWATER season’s featured poets will come together on one stage, joined by members of the On the Eve of Abolition cast and crew.
THU, OCT 31
First Toast
For shows in the Paramount, First Toasts happen immediately after the performance concludes in the Randall Lobby. Join us to raise a glass to the artists and for light refreshments and dessert. Free for all ticket holders!
FRI, NOV 01
Talk Back
For Talk Back performances, immediately after the conclusion of the show, a moderator and special guests will talk about the production and field questions from the audience as well. Free for all ticket holders!
Gallery
Photo Credit: Pedro Iván Bonilla
Photo Credit: Pedro Iván Bonilla
Photo Credit: Ricardo Alcaraz
Photo Credit: Ricardo Alcaraz
Photo Credit: Pedro Iván Bonilla
Photo Credit: Ricardo Alcaraz
Photo Credit: Pedro Iván Bonilla
Photo Credit: Ricardo Alcaraz
Photo Credit: Ricardo Alcaraz
Photo Credit: Ricardo Alcaraz
Photo Credit: Ricardo Alcaraz
Artists
Company
Papel Machete
Papel Machete is a radical Puerto Rican theater collective that engages a range of art forms and storytelling techniques grounded in intersectional, working-class politics. Founded in 2006, Papel Machete has worked with a variety of theatrical forms including toy theater, shadow theatre, table-top puppetry, and giant puppets. The collective aims to use theatrical creativity to motivate their audiences to social action. Papel Machete was selected on the basis of their proposal to develop a bilingual multimedia performance, On the Eve of Abolition, set on the imaginary day of the last prison closing. Incorporating a range of source material and performance techniques, Papel Machete tackles one of the critical social justice issues of our time by presupposing the success of the Prison Abolition Movement from a place of collective decision making, reflection, and accountability.
We would like to lift up the work of our comrades and project partners who are incarcerated and/or organizing for prison abolition. Please visit our website with ways to support their efforts: https://ontheeveofabolition.com/actions-for-abolition.
Sponsored By:
This program is supported by the Neighborhood and Downtown Activation Grant from the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture and the City of Boston.
“The beauty of your work is made even more valuable by the absolute necessity of its presence in our lives. Showing the path. Echoing and honoring resistance. Low sweeping bow.”
— Noelle Hanrahan on On the Eve of Abolition, Prison Radio
November 22, 2024
World Alive! 2024 Photos
On October 5th, we gathered for our 9th Annual World Alive! Gala. Thank you to all who joined us! Thanks to your generosity, we were able to raise critical funds...
Read MoreOctober 27, 2024
A Note From Ronee Penoi on On the Eve of Abolition
The year is 2047 and formerly incarcerated people, organizers, and families across the liberated lands formerly known as the United States and Mexico have come together to end the last...
Read MoreSeptember 11, 2024
On the Eve of Abolition Production Photos
These On the Eve of Abolition production photos illustrate what to expect when the performance comes to Boston in October! This bilingual, multimedia masterpiece is a radical imaginary sci-fi story...
Read MoreSeptember 11, 2024
Fall Accessibility Performances at ArtsEmerson
We have announced our fall accessibility performances for this season, including for Fight Night, In the Same Tongue and On the Eve of Abolition. Our accessibility performance include Audio Described...
Read More