Award-winning "Forgive Us, Gustavito!" arrives at The Rockwell
Tushar Mathew
Otherland Theatre Ensemble Presents
Forgive Us, Gustavito!
Aug. 24 & 25, 2023
SOMERVILLE, MA - Winners of the 2018 Charm City Fringe Festival’s Best of Fringe Forgive us, Gustavito!, an outrageous animal noir will be performed by the Otherland Theatre Ensemble on Aug. 24 and 25 at The Rockwell, 255 Elm Street. Tickets are $15.
Inspired by bizarre true events, Forgive us,Gustavito! is set in the backdrop of a horrific crime. Gustavito, the solitary hippo of the National Zoo, was found dead from fifteen stab wounds to the snout. Join his twin brother Detective Emilio Hippo, the devastating Elvira Spider Monkey, Toto the Gentleman Gorilla and a whole host of Zoo friends for a story that is equal parts classic noir and outrageous animal madness. In the shadowy underbelly of the zoo, we ask the question, “what does it mean to be complicit in a system you cannot identify?”
Otherland Theatre Ensemble is a physical theater devising company made up of artists from India, Greece, Spain, and the United States. Through transformative embodiment of larger-than-life characters, we tell stories of outcasts and underdogs moved by universal struggles in outrageous worlds. Otherland Ensemble’s work is rooted in our ability to cherish the cultural differences of our individual members while simultaneously responding to global conversations that unite us.
Rebecca Finney is a physical theater maker and somatic practitioner. She has served as an ensemble member with the Bread and Puppet Theater, Dell’Arte International, and Roadside Theater. She is new to the Boston community, where she serves as an affiliated faculty member at Emerson College and a second year Physical Therapy student at North Shore Community College. She is a cat mom and also loves the Blue Hills Nature Reservation just outside of Dorchester, where she currently resides.
Tushar Mathew is a theatre maker, and teaching artist from India. Tushar’s teaching and creative pursuits often focuses on movement, physical embodiment, storytelling, and our relationship to the environment. His current preoccupations include re-framing narratives to center animal protagonists, birds, dystopian worlds, the relationship between AI and surveillance, and our relationship with our neighbors. Tushar is currently an Assistant Professor in the Performing Arts Department at Emerson College, Boston.
Lucius Robinson is a Princess Grace award-winning performer, director, writer, and teacher. He received his MFA from the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theater and is currently based in Baltimore, where he is a grateful primary school teacher for the city. He is beyond delighted to have the opportunity to return to this story with these people.
Praise for Forgive Us, Gustavito!:
“For a play about a hippo, it’s pretty dark. Forgive Us, Gustavito! is bookended by the primal howling of a grieving animal, as the audience is enveloped in a blackout. This is not to say, however, that this production by Otherland Theatre Ensemble, currently playing at the Charm City Fringe Festival in Baltimore, doesn’t have a profound sense of humor. Many audience members, including myself, seemed to have a bit of a permanent smile for the duration of the show, as even the more serious beats brought a sense of collective delight.”
Megan Wills, DC Metro Theatre Arts
Forgive us, Gustavito! will be performed on Aug. 24 & 25 at 6:30 PM, at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St. Tickets are $15 and are available at the door or by visiting https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/forgive-us-gustavito-2337769
Otherland IG: @otherlandensemble
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Photo 1: Rebecca Finney as Elvira and Lucius Robinson as Toto in Forgive Us, Gustavito! Photo by Terrence McNally
Photo 2: Tushar Mathew as Detective Emilio Hippo in Forgive Us, Gustavito! Photo by Terrence McNally
