– NATIONAL PREMIERE –
A ZONA K and Triennale Teatro Milano project

Participatory multimedia performance with the use of 3D visuals for 30 spectators | duration 90 min | the performance is characterised by an intense presence of smoke

at ZONA K

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With nostalgia we watch  that little red dot in the night sky and we stupidly dream of restarting, as if problems on earth are resolved more easily at -65º and with the help of high doses of cosmic radiation. Combining live and virtual reality performance, The Last Minutes Before Mars invites us in to enter the world of a group of youngsters to meet their families and friends and spend some time in spaces precious in their lives. This acts as a background to the meetings with the other strangers present in the room, in a collective experience which reflects on the recognition of everyone being part of the same journey, in motion towards the same direction – independent of what happens to us -; now, hundreds of years in the past and beyond, in a future to terrifying and attractive to imagine.

Ideation and direction: Darren O’Donnell co-direciton: Chiara Prodi co-ideation team: Darren O’Donnell, Konstantin Bock, Alice Fleming, Tina France, Sorcha Gibson, Thule Can Den Dam, Sara Guttadauro, Sara Ben Hamouda, Andrada Ciccotto, Fjoralba Qerimaj, Jerwin Mostiero, Morena Marra, Craig McCorquendale, Genny De Leon, Elisa Fasiello, Mervin Kyle Fajardo, Fi Nicholson, Gianluca Benvenuti with: Sara Guttadauro, Sara Ben Hamouda, Andrada Ciccotto, Fjoralba Qerimaj, Jerwin Mostiero, Elisa Fasiello, Mervin Kyle Fajardo executive producers: Alice Fleming, Ryan Lewis, Virginia Antonipillai associate producers: Craig McCuorquodale music: Isola Music thanks to: Stephen O’Connell, Letizia Gozzini (ITAS Giulio Natta).

The last Minutes Before Mars was originally co-comissioned a coproduced by ZONA K and Triennale Milano Teatro, in collaboration with the ITAS Giulio Natta di Milano and with the support of the Canada Council of the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council e the Ambasciata del Canada in Italia.

Guided by Darren O’Donnell, Mammalian Diving Reflex is a company founded in Toronto in 1993. After having distanced itself from a more traditional theatrical setting to move towards more socially engaging practices focused on performance. Creating shows to research the contradictions to transform into aesthetically brilliant experiences, the Mammalian always look to overtake themselves and the public with ideas and sensations, leaving intuition to lead the way.

Darren O’Donnell is a novelist, essayist, dramaturge, filmmaker, performance director, artistic director and founder of Mammalian Diving Reflex. His mission is the one to give life to a social tissue which deeply integrates culture and cultural institutions, increasing their capacity for social response. In 2000 he won the Pauline McGibbon Awards for direcion and was nominatod for numerous Dora Awards of Toronto for writing, direction and acting, winning, alongside Naomi Campbell, for the project While Mice. His work with the Mammalian company entered in the top 100 of the Yerba Beuna Culture Centre in 2016. He has been nominated twice for the german BKM Preis Kulturelle Bildung and New York’s Ellen Stewart inagrual prize.

Photos © Paul Blakemore