BRATTLEBORO—The internationally renowned Bread & Puppet Theater returns to the Bandwagon Summer Series on Saturday, August 1, bringing its newest outdoor spectacle, The Upside Down World Circus, to Retreat Farm in Brattleboro.
The performance begins at 4 p.m., with gates opening at 3 p.m. at Retreat Farm, 45 Farmhouse Square. Tickets are $24 in advance, $28 at the gate, and free for children under 12.
Known for its towering papier-mâché puppets, stilt walkers, live brass band, and unmistakable blend of political theater and joyful spectacle, Bread & Puppet’s latest production asks audiences to confront what artistic director Peter Schumann calls “our upside-down situation.”
“Is it or is it not? Am I asleep or am I awake? Am I a cockroach or am I me?” asks the company’s manifesto for the new circus. “Possibilitarians! We must demonstrate humanity’s upside-down situation in the face of the government’s depraved falsehoods. Luxury, silence, and despair must be replaced by revolt orchestras that radically oppose the radically wrong system. It is time to unforget the revolution-in-progress and aim for the evermore on the universe’s shore.”
Following each performance, the company will continue one of its best-loved traditions by serving its famous sourdough rye bread with aioli. Visitors can also browse the Bread & Puppet Press’s “Cheap Art” collection of books, posters, postcards, pamphlets, banners, and other printed works.
Founded in 1963 by Peter and Elka Schumann on New York City’s Lower East Side, Bread & Puppet Theater has been based in Glover, Vermont, for decades and has become one of the world’s most celebrated political theater companies. Its visually rich productions combine giant puppets, masks, music, dance, slapstick, and pageantry to explore social and political issues while remaining accessible to audiences of all ages.
The company has performed throughout the United States and internationally, earning recognition at theater festivals in France, Italy, Poland, Colombia, and the former Yugoslavia. Among its honors are the Erasmus Prize, four Obie Awards, the Puppeteers of America President’s Award, and the Vermont Governor’s Award. More than sixty years after its founding, Bread & Puppet continues to create new work while remaining one of the nation’s oldest nonprofit, self-supporting theatrical companies.
Presented by Next Stage Arts, the Bandwagon Summer Series is a family-friendly outdoor performance series running throughout the summer at parks, farms, and community spaces across Putney, Brattleboro, and Bellows Falls. Each event features a dedicated children’s play area, food vendors, refreshments including beer, wine, and canned cocktails, and ample space for audiences to spread out with blankets, lawn chairs, and picnics.
This performance is sponsored in part by the Putney Food Co-op.
Advance tickets and additional information are available at nextstagearts.org.
