Theatre Y presents SELF-ACCUSATION by Peter Handke

What are we guilty of today? Why the tumultuous desire to speak out, to accuse, to call out, and ultimately to confess?

Who are we confessing to?

One of the most radical works of the 20th century, Peter Handke's Self-Accusation takes the audience on a journey that explores our need to confess and our delight in hearing about others' transgressions. In this play without characters, the actors confess to all sorts of sins, ranging from the monstrosity of dealing in slaves or committing genocide to the triviality of failing to shake the lotion bottle before use. At times disturbing, funny, and profound, this crescendo of wrongdoing suggests that if "to err is human," then to confess--to make a story out of our transgression-- is the beginning of art.

Originally written for two speakers, Theatre Y reimagines this gleefully rebellious mea culpa as a conceptual art oratorio for an ensemble of nine, staged in a storefront window with the city of Chicago itself as its backdrop. By the end of the piece we have a group of speakers who are no longer actors, a collection of individuals who are no longer just spectators.

As Peter Handke confesses to the audience, "You are the event."

What do you want to confess?

Please join us for Theatre Y's imaginitive production of Self-Accusation by Peter Handke.

Self-Accusation will be the third Theatre Y production to be offerred to the public free of charge thanks to the Free Theatre Movement.

The Ensemble: Kris Tori*, Adrian Garcia*, Nadia Pillay, Pearl Ramsey, Zahrah Pillay, Howard Raik, Arlene Arnone Bibbs, Ishmael Klein, and Anthony Battle. Co-directed by Melissa Lorraine* and Hector Alvarez*, the production team includes Ben Kinsinger (Sound/Composition), Rachel Levy (Lights), Henry Wilkinson (Set), Rebecca Hinsdale (Costumes), Claire Alston (Dramaturgy), and Alanna Gerardi (Stage Management).

For more information about Theatre Y, Self-Accusation, the Free Theatre Movement, or to join our email list, please visit www.theatre-y.com

*Denotes Theatre Y Ensemble Member