"Difficult to imagine a performance that could be more filmic, visceral or dramatic”
- The National, UAE

In this genre-defying work of political theater featuring a powerhouse ensemble of 20 singers and musicians, Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower harnesses 200 years of Black music to give musical life to Butler’s acclaimed science fiction novel of the same name. Parable chronicles the spiritual awakening of young Lauren Olamina amidst a dystopian America wracked by the violence brought on by climate change that has driven society to the brink. Written by Toshi Reagon, who Vibe Magazine called “one helluva rock’n’roller-coaster ride,” in collaboration with her mother, Bernice Johnson Reagon, the iconic singer, scholar and activist, Parable of the Sower becomes a mesmerizing theatrical work of rare power and beauty that reveals deep insights on gender, race and the future of human civilization.

Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower is made possible with funding by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Theater Project, with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Co-Commissioned by The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi and World Premiere at The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi, November 9, 2017.

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