SLAB is the second work in a planned trilogy by choreographer and performer Thea Patterson, each piece responding to an acute traumatic loss. In this solo, a single performer and a single table enter into a deep, listening partnership, moving through rolling, sensual, and hypnotic gestures that mirror the wavelike rhythms of grief.
The performance draws on imagery from nineteenth-century ectoplasmic magic and mediumship traditions, as well as archetypal mourning rituals across cultures. It ventures into shadow, crossing the mythological River Styx and evoking the thin veil between the living world and the world of the dead.
The sonic landscape is built from cello and found sounds, creating a rich, immersive environment that supports the piece's character as lament, invocation, and farewell.
SLAB runs from Monday, March 22 through Thursday, March 25, 2027, with performances beginning at 7:30 PM each evening at La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines, 3700 Saint-Dominique Street, Montreal (Quebec) H2X 2X7. Tickets are available through Tuxedo Billet.