PORTLAND — Mayo Street Arts presents The City That Slept, an imaginative and visually striking puppet performance by artist Tom Tuke, with two performances on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 25 at 5 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes prior to each show. This all-ages production runs approximately 50 minutes and invites audiences into a dreamlike vision of New York City transformed by sleep. Tickets are available for $20 in advance, $25 at the door and $30 for preferred seating, with pay-what-you-can options offered to support accessibility.
The City That Slept poses a simple and evocative question: what would happen if Sleep itself arrived in New York City? As the wandering deity drifts through Union Square, Central Park and the bustling streets, people begin to doze off, and their dreams come vividly to life. Using shadow puppetry, glowing lanterns and intimate storytelling, the performance reveals a tapestry of voices, dreams and quiet moments within the city, offering a poetic counterpoint to urban urgency and noise.
Created as Tuke’s capstone project at the University of Connecticut’s Puppet Arts Program, The City That Slept reflects his deep engagement with puppetry as both visual art and storytelling tradition. Tuke is a puppeteer, educator, and artist from Aotearoa. New Zealand who has toured with Bread and Puppet and performed with Rahul Pulavar’s tholpavakoothu productions. His work spans hand, rod and shadow puppetry, and before relocating to the United States, he toured New Zealand with a marionette theater built on a trailer. With The City That Slept, Tuke brings a gentle, haunting and imaginative performance to Mayo Street Arts that will resonate with audiences of all ages.
For ticket information visit the event page here.
Mayo Street Arts is a welcoming community arts center in the heart of Portland’s Kennedy Park neighborhood. The organization’s building serves as a performance venue, gallery, and gathering space, and offers affordable studios and rehearsal space for artists. Mayo Street Arts’ programming embraces variety, with a particular focus on puppetry and folk music and dance.
Mayo Street Arts does not turn anyone away from its events for lack of funds; please contact the organization at 207-879-4629 or info@mayostreetarts.org for information on their pay-what-you-can admission policy. For more information and tickets, visit www.mayostreetarts.org.