Split Britches: Last Gasp

Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver combine spoken word, movement and Zoom technology to respond to a world turned upside down in Last Gasp at Contact.

“How to survive a loss. First you recalibrate…”

Landing somewhere between the realms of the live and the virtual, presence and absence, between staying home and venturing out, Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver combine spoken word, movement and Zoom technology to respond to a world turned upside down.

In early 2020 these two icons of lesbian-feminist theatre set out to present Last Gasp, a live performance questioning demise: the demise of ageing bodies, civil conversation, and a sustainable planet. The pandemic arrived and knocked the breath out of all of us, as did a period of civil unrest that marched under the banner of ‘I can’t breathe.’ The ironies were not lost as the duo locked down, stayed in and continued their investigations resulting in a digital performance, Last Gasp WFH.

Now almost two years later, Last Gasp gathers us in the same room but not as the same people. Returning to the physical stage, Shaw and Weaver reevaluate what it means to be together in a theatre and what it means to perform in the aftermath of a foundation-shattering crisis. With episodes entitled ‘The Trump in Me’, ‘How to Set a Table in an Emergency’, and ‘How to Survive a Loss’, the legendary performance duo brings us together to recalibrate – not only facing demise but considering strategies for moving on.

Created in collaboration with Lois Weaver, Peggy Shaw, Nao Nagai, Vivian Stoll and Morgan Thorson.

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