Deepe Darknesse

“so I, being in this fearfull perplexity, could not forbeare laughing” — Apuleius

Deepe Darknesse (pronounced dee-pee dark-ness-ay) is a physically maximal, experimental dance-theater work based on The Golden Ass, a cautionary tale warning against misbehavior, women, and nature. In a transmogrification regiment of their own design, the performers push past their physical limits and press the edges of the playing space in a frenetic, oddball, unrelentingly theatrical Rube Goldberg machine of “curiositas improspera” or unhappy curiosity. The attempt to become something better backfires and the show tangles into a gordian knot. Their climactic moment is overshadowed by the glamorous entrance of underrated 1960s Italian songstress Cocki Mazzetti.

NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW

NEW YORKER ARTICLE

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

Aug 1 + 2 2025 @ ODC Theater (CA)

past performances

FEB 6 + 7 2025 @ The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center (MD)

Jan 12 - 15 2024 @ Live Artery, presented by New York Live Arts (NYC)

Jun 14 - 23 2023 @ The Collapsable Hole (NYC)

CREATED AND PERFORMED BY Lisa Fagan + Lena Engelstein

WITH PERFORMANCE BY Hannah Mitchell

UNDERSTUDY Kirsten Harvey

LIGHTING DESIGN Masha Tsimring + Christina Tang

SOUND DESIGN Tei Blow

PRODUCTION MANAGER Daniel Nelson

PROPS + ART DIRECTION Lily Guerin + Ana San Milan

DRAMATURGICAL SUPPORT Alex Tatarsky, Morgan Green, Max Dana

PHOTOGRAPHY Maria Baranova

Produced in association with New York Live Arts, and Immediate Medium. This project was made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and Immediate Medium’s AGENCY program. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and by a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant.