Bitter Herb: A Play in Movement

March 15th – 1:30 & 4pm, 16th – 1:30pm, 18th – 6pm, 19th – 6pm, 22nd – 1:30 & 4pm, and 23rd – 1:30pm

Join Speculative Drama and the Multnomah County Central Library as a fairytale world unfolds all around you with Bitter Herb: A Play in Movement. Based on the Grimm’s Brothers Rapunzel, this immersive production asks the question of what it means to be family and how we learn to let our children go. Placing the audience directly into the action and taking advantage of the unique and stunning architecture of the Multnomah County Central Library, we create a world which envelops and invites you to see this classic folktale in a new light – exploring the story’s darker themes of protection vs possession and punishment vs liberation.

Bitter Herb is a free, all ages production but may not be suitable for children under 10 due to the immersive nature of the production and general themes.

A mix of standing room and improvised seating, Bitter Herb evokes silent movies, classic story books, and stylized mask performance while integrating a contemporary sensibility through modern movement technique and unconventional staging.

Due to the immersive nature of this production, all tickets are standing room and improvised seating. Accommodations are available. Please email speculative.drama@gmail.com for accessibility details and to arrange for accommodation.

Devising Director: Megan Skye Hale*
Cast: Elizabeth Neal*, Tim Sisk, Caitlynn Didlick, Lisa Neher, Damian Lichtenstein
Costumes and Props: Megan Skye Hale and Isabella Buckner*
Sound and Lighting Design: Myrrh Larsen*
Speculative Drama Artistic Director: Megan Skye Hale, Creative and Technical Director: Myrrh Larsen
*Speculative Drama company member

Speculative Drama aims to reclaim the relevance of myths, fairy tales, and classical texts through immersive, live theatrical performances. Our goal is to better reflect the diversity of the communities which we serve, and to show fellow people of marginalized identities that we, too, have a place in the classics. Through site-specific theatre, rich and immersive soundscapes, and an extremely intimate setting we explore the intersection of classic stories and unconventional storytelling – creating an atmosphere of inclusion and innovation while honoring and maintaining the original texts or source materials.