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
Details
80 minutes
Ages 12+ (adults with children welcome, please consider content warnings)
Group Sales available now
Play Reading Book Club 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
Sat, Nov 02 8:00 pm
Tickets
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.
“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
September 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...
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