‘Lunch with Sonia’ uses puppetry to delve into death with dignity
Nov 18, 2024
A dance puppet theater company will perform a show about dignified death — and the complexities that accompany it — at Baltimore’s Theatre Project from Nov. 21 through Nov. 24.The show, titled :Lunch with Sonia,” will be performed by LOCO7, a dance puppet theater company based at the renowned La Mama Experimental Theatre Club in New York City.“Lunch with Sonia” is inspired by co-writer and director Federico Restrepo’s experience with his Aunt Sonia, who made the decision to end her life with dignity after a long illness. She was 72. The show uses puppets, live actors, music, video, and physical theatre to deal with the complex themes of life, love, and loss.The show naturally spurs conversations and questions about the controversial and emotionally charged issue of assisted dying and the factors that surround it. Morality, religion, science, politics, faith, and psychology are all elements contributing to an individual’s reflections and decisions on the conditions of their own demise or those of a loved one.“With this piece, LOCO7 hopes to acknowledge the incredible intimacy and the very personal nature of dying as the final event of living a self-actualized, individual human life and to move the dialogue from the philosophical arena to the realm of personal experience and stories related to the topic of Death with Dignity,” reads the Theatre Project’s tender description of the show.Showtimes vary depending on the date. On Thursday and Friday, Nov. 21 and 22, the show begins at 8 p.m. On Saturday, Nov. 23, there is a matinee at 3 p.m. and an evening show at 8 p.m. The final show is on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 4 p.m.Tickets vary in price from $15 (students), $20 (seniors, artists, and those in the military), and $25 (general admission). To purchase tickets, click this link.Theatre Project is located at 45 W. Preston Street, Baltimore, MD.The theater offers the following parking guidance:“The parking garage across the street from Theatre Project has been closed. If street parking is not available, we recommend the Fitzgerald Parking Garage, at the corner of Mt. Royal and Oliver Streets. It is about two blocks from the theatre and is adjacent to the Lyric. Click here for map & directions.”