A dark, brutal, and evocative story, Blind Eyes explores the themes of religious fanaticism and manipulation, the desperation and displacement of those abandoned by society and then seeking meaning in extreme beliefs, and the extremes of power and corruption, when authority figures manipulate the vulnerable, leading to cycles of violence.

Inspired in early 20th-century Brazil’s politico-religious tragic and intense conflicts of the War of Contestado, Blind Eyes follows a group of displaced backwoodsmen who, under the leadership of a self-proclaimed messiah, seek to establish a new empire and a holy war against the auto-proclaimed and tyrannic new Republic.

The story:

A wandering monk with a dark past arrives in a rural area and manipulates the desperate and displaced people into believing he is a prophet sent to lead a divine war. Rosario, a young woman with prophetic dreams, confirms his status, solidifying his power over the group. The monk proclaims the creation of a new monarchy and enforces extreme religious rituals, including sexual abuse of the "holy virgins" and the ritualistic killing of children.

Meanwhile, the local priest and mayor debate how to deal with the rising fanaticism, and aiming to destroy any potential new local political power, the mayor calls in the Republican army. The soldiers arrive with a machine gun but fail to fire, leading to a chaotic and bloody battle. The monk is mortally wounded, and as he dies, he blinds Rosario, telling her to "see."

Rosario, now blind, encounters Lucena, a survivor who had previously fled from the monk’s army. She seduces him, hoping to birth a new generation of warriors, but he ultimately abandons her. The play ends with Rosario wandering alone into the wilderness, in a tragic cycle of fanaticism and suffering.

Content warning:

Content warning for discussion of political corruption. Depiction of sexual abuse and torture.

“Hangmen” revolves around a condemned man awaiting execution, and the two hangmen who are tasked with carrying out their job. The story unfolds in a single room where the executioners engage in casual, often darkly humorous conversations about their job, their lives, and the morality of executing people. An Attorney is still trying to appeal the convict’s case, ever delaying the execution.

The convict is granted a last wish. He asks to play the piano, a request that one hangman finds absurd, but the other tries to accommodate, bringing a piano to the room. While playing he is interrupted multiple times by the Attorney, his mother and his son. Adding to the nonsense of the situation, she brings food while his son, a drug addicted, shares a letter he wrote for his father.

New charges prolong the ordeal, until the final execution order is confirmed. However, the convict activates the noose himself, taking control of his fate, while the piano plays on its own, in a final act of defiance.

Content warning:

Content warning for discussion of political corruption and violence. Depiction of drug abuse and addiction.