Theatre in the Dark - Eat the Stars

EAT THE STARS is a meditation in dance, poetry, and space on the metaphor of human stories in a cosmic context. The light we’re made of. The light inside. The light we are. And time, deep time, time and space measured in light years. 

A live performance in response to space. The site, the night sky, and the universe. A site-responsive performance at the South African Astronomical Observatory, 1 Observatory Road, Observatory, Cape Town. 

The choice of the site is to give our audience the possibility of actually seeing stars and, even with the constant hum of the traffic on the Liesbeek Parkway, to have an experience of being in a natural environment at night. The site, with its beautiful architectural structures, and almost 200-year old telescope and natural vegetation, is imbued with a sense of the passage of time on a human scale. And resonant with the scientific awareness of the night sky. I am also drawn to the SAAO’s approach to an awareness of indigenous knowledge and how an understanding of what it means to a human gazing at the stars encompasses both world class science and also story-telling and wonder.

I have long been intrigued by the idea that all the atoms on the earth, every one of the minuscule building blocks of every rock, tree, and sentient being originated in the explosion of a dying star billions of years ago. My worldview centres science and empirical evidence, I don’t imagine I have a soul that will survive my body’s death. But instead, my body will transform, either as ash or decomposed organic matter, the molecules and atoms that are now me will become new matter … plants or compost.  And I love the image that our planet is a closed system with elements remaining consistent over millennia. 

“One, remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet.

Two, never give up work. Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it.

Three, if you are lucky enough to find love, remember it is there and don't throw it away.”

                                                             Stephen Hawking