When it comes to staging an adaptation of Tennessee Williams' The Night of the Iguana titled la noche i.delicatissima, the whimsically creative minds behind local art collective Southernmost Situations have decidedly put together a show that doesn't conform to the dated rules of performing arts.
Born out of a spontaneous trip to Key West, Southernmost Situations is a Miami-based social catalyst that "challenges the boundaries between contemporary art, performance, and the traditional curatorial model." One of their most memorable previous performances includes a video art show at The Corner last year. The curatorial collaboration between Situation Range and Audio/ Visual Situation brought art to a typically art-free venue, with performance and visual pieces with an emphasis on sound.
This Thursday, Friday, and Sunday the art collective's swampy play La Noche I.Delicatissima is coming to life at Swampspace in the Design District. The play tells the sensual story of a single, lascivious night among a widowed proprietress, a defrocked minister, the world's oldest living poet, and several other characters who clash during one stormy night--you know, a typical day in Miami.
Spearheaded by Southernmost Situations co-founder Liz Ferrer and her assistant producer Sebastian Duncan-Portuondo, the art group's unconventional and unrestrainedly bizarre approach expands the play to embody the idea of a total artwork, incorporating dance, movement theater, sculpture, and surrealist gestures into the scope of performative action.
For their adaptation of The Night of the Iguana, the setting is transplanted from 1940s Mexico to 1960 Cuba, befitting of Miami's distinct relationship with the neighboring country.
Video works including Dylan Romer's Time Piles, Moisés Aragon's video work, Cara Despain's eight millimeter, and Coral Morophologic's documentation of sea life, add a dream-like framework for what Southernmost refers to as "near-psychedelic aesthetic" in order to reorient the play--which, by the way, includes a cast of mostly inexperienced actors, a deliberate artistic choice. And as if that's not enough to tempt the curious, there will also be a re-envisioning of a classic Greek chorus.
Performances for La Noche I.Delicatissima are June 6-8 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 each. Swampspace, 150 NE 42 St., Miami. Call 305-710-8632 or visit southernmostsituations.eventbrite.com.
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