Escapist Action: Performance In Recession

Escapist Action: Performance in Recession begins with a weeklong series of performance events that investigate economics and presents the audiences with alternative methods of exchange, culminating in three evening programs entitled Black Friday, Red Flag Saturday, and Grey Cup Sunday. These three evening investigate the mixed emotions evoked by the volatile economic market. The performances navigate the sensations of fear, despair, laughter, and hope. The audience is transported from the dark emotions of Black Friday through the humour of Red Flag Saturday arriving at the celebratory Grey Cup Sunday.

Open Barter Market & The Artist and the Beanstalk by Ignacio Pérez Pérez and Julian Higuerey Núñez

With this duo of interrelated performances, Núñez & Pérez create an alternative exchange and cultural economy, one based not on capitalist value, but on need value.

A week-long performance presented in the context of Escapist Action: Performance in Recession, curated by Don Simmons.

On Escapist Action: Performance in Recession

Essay by Laura Paolini about the 2009 series, Escapist Action: Performance in Recession.

“Globally, from bombings to political scandals and massive natural disasters, to the weakening dollar, crash of the housing market and global recession, the last ten years have been the bleakest in history (according to some).”