World After Dark

World After Dark is a new dance-theatre production choreographed and directed by Shannon Litzenberger. It explores the erosion of our relationship to night, inspired by Christopher Dewdney’s popular book ‘Acquainted with the Night’. From the three stages of nightfall to the science of the cosmos; from the birth of nightlife to the empire of dreams; from the biology of nocturnal creatures to the mythology of the night sky, World After Dark takes us on an epic voyage through the mysteries of night, inviting us to reclaim the night – a metaphor for the sensual, the embodied, and the feminine.

Creative team and ensemble of performers include: Marie-Josée Chartier, John Gzowski, Syreeta Hector, Louis Laberge-Côté, Emily Law, Alexandra Lord, Kleanthi Markakis, Ken MacKenzie, Nikolaos Markakis, Elysha Poirier, Gerry Trentham, Linnea Swan, Guillermo Verdecchia, Dan Wild and Kathia Wittenborn - Shannon Litzenberger Contemporary Dance at Harbourfront Centre Theatre, 2019.

“… the lights gradually come up on Linnea Swan, the personification of night. A goddess of darkness, she appears outfitted in designer Alexandra Lord’s black silky jumpsuit covered in shiny, spangly stars, as if she was wearing the night sky. Curled up on the floor in fetal position is Louis Laberge-Côté, our Everyman urbanite, as Swan takes us on the progress of night across the globe (courtesy of Elysha Poirier’s video projections on the upstage scrim). The night covers the Earth in darkness …” - Susan Walker, Susan Walker’s Artblog, Mar 11, 2019.

“There are compelling images in this piece, often ones that are developed in silence. Swan leans over a balcony upstage like a pining cabaret singer at midnight. In red and pink velvet bodysuits (designed by Alexandra Lord and Kleanthi Markakis) dancers Emily Law and Kathia Wittenborn become a two-headed creature, at once foreboding and strange as they traverse a dark landscape.” - Martha Schabas, The Globe and Mail, Mar 8, 2019.