An activist group defaces a painting and is calling for the museum to drop their dubious funders. Problem is, if you dig deep enough, they are all dubious. And once you see that, you cannot unsee it. The Triumph of Death takes you on an immoral quest with the Head of Development, as she tries to save the arts while making everyone happy - patrons, artists and Death themself.
The Triumph of Death is a silly, sad and hypocritical exploration of the complex levels of art-washing that are occurring in our cultural institutions, right under our noses. Playing with the archetypes of a morality play, taking inspiration from Renaissance art, and dabbling in musical numbers, the show asks: are the blood-drenched donors of our cultural institutions using the arts as a moral shield? And, as overworked, underfunded artists, can we live with that?
Let the Head of Development, the Artist, the Patron and Death (fret not, it’s a puppet), help you answer those questions. Or, at least, befriend and confront the moral dilemma of arts funding, in an age when making art feels more financially precarious than ever. Who better to call out funding sources than artists with no funding?
“Such a crucial part of the UK theatre ecology… Developing artists and audiences”
The Guardian
