EXPERIENCE THE STORY OF WIDOWS
by Ariel Dorfman
A haunting fable of profound relevance today comes to life in the heart of the East Village at Green Oasis Community Garden. This free outdoor production invites audiences to gather under the trees and prepare to hear poetry from the women of the valley.
Performances run August 22–31 at 3 PM
Admission is free
A universal story about those who disappear and the ones who wait for them.
The Parable of 'Widows'
Ariel Dorfman’s Widows is a harrowing and poetic vision of political violence, maternal grief, and the courage it takes to demand truth.
Set in a nameless country that looks like our own, in an unknown time that feels like today, a village is populated by only women. All the men have disappeared under an authoritarian regime, swallowed by the silence of repression.
When corpses of the men begin to surface in the river, a quiet mourning becomes a defiant uprising. Steeped in grief and rage, the women demand accountability—and retribution.
This evocative, lyrical production explores themes of state violence, traumatic memory, and hopeful resistance.
The Garden as Collaborator
This site-specific production will be performed outdoors at Green Oasis Community Garden in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
We view the garden as our primary collaborator with respect to every aspect of production. Like a good collaborator, the garden inspires and challenges us. Our focus in the play is to give back directly to it. Benches will be repainted, bushes will be weeded, paths will be swept, fish will be fed, and trees will be sung to. We plan on making the most out of our garden's natural gifts in our staging, encouraging audiences to see the garden with new dimension.
Our Mission
Our goal is to leave a positive impact on our beloved green space that will continue beyond the run of the show. A portion of all money raised for the show will go directly back to the garden.
Honoring an Invisible Struggle
Every year on August 30th, the world observes the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. In 2025, this day will fall on Saturday, August 30th. The day is dedicated to raising awareness about the issue of enforced disappearances and to remember and support the victims and their families.
Established by the UN General Assembly in 2010, the day aims to draw attention to the fate of individuals who have been forcibly disappeared, often by state officials or with state complicity.
Global Impact
Enforced disappearances occur all over the world, affecting individuals of every age and profession. This practice violates many human rights that are enshrined in international law, including the right to liberty and security of person, the right to a fair trial, and the right to family life.