galatea 2.0
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Sophie Dushko’s GALATEA 2.0 is a modern speculation on the Pygmalion myth, a deconstruction of the muse/ artist relationship, and an exploration of intimacy that merges Mrs. Patrick Campbell/ George Bernard Shaw, found text, Incel culture, lots of blue gatorade, puppetry, plinths, and a very old Pekinese. The show chronicles Eliza, a sex worker hired by a disaffected young man to role play as a top of the line "love doll" when his own doll mysteriously breaks. Directed by C.C. Kellogg, it features Meg MacCary* as Mrs. Pat, Vincent Santvoord as Henry/ Shaw/ Pygmalion, and Izabel Mar* / Violet Savage sharing the dual roles of Galatea and Eliza— love doll and human woman— for which they will flip a coin on stage before each performance. It was co-presented by InvulNos and Brooklyn Art Haus, Williamsburg’s newest home for innovative arts programming, for its world premier summer 2023 in the venue’s first multi week run. The production will return for a limited Manhattan engagement in 2025.
The creative team includes costume and scenic design by Margot Mayer, lighting design by Jacqueline Scaletta, sound design by Emma Lea Hasselbach, intimacy direction by Nicole Chaffin, dialect consultation by Sigrid Sutter, projections by Anna Beck, key art by Maya Irvine, and press by Andrea Alton. The text was first developed by the company at our annual Barn Lab in 2022; our process also included dedicated tech exploration summer 2022 at Mercury Store in Gowanus. In 2024, it appeared as a 12 hour durational gallery exhibition in the East Village, thanks to Studio616. With very special thanks to Abrons Arts/ NYSCA, the Barn Lab 2022 cohort, Alida Rose Delaney, Lauren Guglielmello, Houghton Hall, IndieSpace, LEIMAY, and Wanderwood Farm for helping make this project possible.
*appearing courtesy AEA
★ GALATEA 2.0 premiered July 2023 at Brooklyn Art Haus and will return in 2025
“galatea 2.0 is making its compelling world premiere as the first multi-week theatrical run of the new Brooklyn Art Haus in Williamsburg–a new perspective for a new venue on a story simultaneously of the moment and literally ancient (…) Challenging, funny, and, finally, cathartic, galatea 2.0 offers a pedestal-smashing intervention for our isolating age.”
- Thinking Theater NYC
★ Staff Picks STAFF PICK July 2023
“A play that smashes the classical to bring something new(…) thrills and surprises”
-The Dionysian Dream
“The most ambitious and articulate playwrighting feat of the season”
-Alt Citizen
