THE WASTE LAND

This May, The Straddler presents T.S. Elliot’s The Waste Land, the third theatrical production for the Company which has been publishing the literary magazine The Straddler (also the Company's namesake) since 2007.  A home for writers and artists of all disciplines, The Straddler examines social, political, and popular culture by nurturing the thoughtful investigations of artists and intellectuals from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds.

Told from the perspective of Tiresias, a blind, half-man half-woman prophet from Greek mythology, The Waste Land is a dramatic and bitter meditation on social catastrophe. The Straddler's staging—performed by an African American Tiresias, an overeager nautical sidekick, and a seedy musician—will combine elements of vaudeville, melodrama, and the minstrel show as it explores the comedy and absurdity of a text that continues to illuminate our times.

The Straddler is an interdisciplinary organization founded with the intent of examining and transforming culture. Looking as much to the past as to the present for insights into an age where repetition and cultural diminishment are the norm, The Straddler seeks to sift through illuminated bits of western and American culture. Pieced together, The Straddler believes these fragments offer images of the potential for a more dignified cultural future.