Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower

- Exploding the form of an opera, a mesmerizing theatrical work of rare power and beauty that reveals deep insights on gender, race and the future of human civilization.

Based on the post-apocalyptic novel by the late Afro-futurist and science fiction author Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower is a genre-defying work of political theater that harnesses three hundred years of Black music.

Written by Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon, Parable chronicles the spiritual awakening of young Lauren Olamina amidst a dystopian America wracked by the violence brought on by climate change that has driven society to the brink. Parable fuses science fiction, African-American spiritualism, deep insights into gender and race, and climate activism to construct a mesmerizing meditation on the future of human civilization.

Co-commissioned by The Arts Center.

“Difficult to imagine a performance that could be more filmic, visceral or dramatic” – The National, UAE

Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower is made possible with funding by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Theater Project, with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Co-commissioned by The Arts Center at NYUAbu Dhabi. It was developed in part during a residency at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, New York, NY and fiscally sponsored by Cal Shakes. A Reagon Arts Production. Produced by Meiyin Wang.