NUDITY! We need more nudity in theater! Actors play with the audience’s senses. And you dive in.
Blessed Unrest proudly presents the world premiere of Body Unredacted, in collaboration with playwrights Damen Scranton and Laura Wickens, and conceived of, directed and choreographed by Jessica Burr. The Makers’ Space has become a sanctuary for the raw and the rhythmic with Body Unredacted.
This limited engagement (running through May 17th) is less a play and more an anatomical exhumation: a striking, ensemble-driven piece that asks what it means to inhabit a “body” in a world that constantly seeks to edit it.
A surgeon’s steady hand falters as she discovers the pulse of her own hidden heart, while a painter’s brush strips the world away to expose the raw, shivering humanity of those who pose. In the shadowed corners of the room, love takes root like a wildflower, and across the vast, silent stretches of space and time, siblings run breathless, chasing the silver ghost of the moon. That is how I felt watching the play. It was magical.
Body Unredacted is an excavation of the soul’s house: a deep descent into the geography of flesh, the clockwork of organs, and the sturdy poetry of bone. It is where the cold precision of science meets the warmth of lived breath. Through journeys of undying devotion and the whispers of prophecy, the ensemble traces the map of where we truly belong, honoring every jagged scar and the inconceivably beautiful mysteries that thrive beneath the surface. You might feel disturbed, you might fall asleep when asked to close your eyes. I was just dreaming.
The Vision
Collaborating with playwrights Damen Scranton and Laura Wickens, Jessica Burr has crafted a non-linear narrative that feels both deeply personal and universally clinical. The production doesn’t just tell stories; it maps the topography of human experience through sweat, breath, and spoken word. It might feel therapeutic. if not, hug the actors at the end of the play as I did.
Performance and Choreography
The hallmark of a Blessed Unrest production is its physicality, and Body Unredacted is no exception. The ensemble moves with a terrifying precision that oscillates between:
Mechanical Rigidity: Capturing the clinical, often cold nature of medical or societal observation.
Fluid Vulnerability: Moments of breathtaking tenderness where the performers shed their “armor.”
The choreography acts as a secondary script. Where Scranton and Wickens’ words provide the intellectual scaffolding, Jessica Burr’s movement provides the emotional gut-punch. The Makers’ Space offers an intimate, almost intrusive proximity to the performers, making every labored breath and muscle twitch part of the audience’s experience. Scape from your own reality and go to see the show.
Themes: The Unfiltered Self
As the title suggests, the piece is preoccupied with redaction: the parts of ourselves we hide, the scars we cover, and the biological realities we are taught to find shameful. By “unredacting” these elements, the ensemble forces a confrontation with:
Identity vs. Biology: How much of “us” is just carbon and bone?
Agency: Who owns the narrative of a body? The person inside it, or the society looking at it?
The Verdict: Body Unredacted is intense without hurting, high-energy and nurturing. It is a watch that rewards the audience with a profound sense of shared humanity, with humility. It is fun to watch.
Blessed Unrest continues to prove why they are a staple of the experimental scene. If you have any interest in physical theater that pushes the boundaries of the “unspoken,” this is an essential ticket.
The cast includes Jeanette Bednar, Hilary Brown-Istrefi, Gagarin, Jonathon Qualls, Rachael Richman and Can M. Yasar.
The production team includes Shawn Young (Set & Light Design), Beth Lake (Sound Design), Sera Bourgeau (Costume Design), Jackie McCarthy (Intimacy Coordinator), Jenn Allen (Dramaturg & Creative Producer), Lauren Pick (Stage Manager) and Rebecca Whitney Klein (Creative Producer).
Location: The Makers’ Space: 281 N 7th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211.
Performances are Sat 5/9 at 7:30pm, Sun 5/10 at 5pm, Mon 5/11 at 7:30pm, Thu 5/14 at 7:30pm, Sat 5/16 at 7:30pm and Sun 5/17 at 5pm. Opening Night Reception on 5/9, Mother’s Day. Reception on 5/10, Post-show Talkback on 5/14 and Closing Night Reception on 5/17.
Run time is approximately 90 minutes. Tickets are $28.22 (includes fees). The show contains nudity – 18 & over admitted.
To purchase tickets and for more info visit https://www.blessedunrest.org.
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