The Exiled

  • Choreographer: Choreography & Set Concept: Helen Pickett Staging: Sarah Hillmer
  • Music: John Corigliano (See Program Notes for additional details)
  • Costumes: Costume Design: Tamara Cobus
  • Lighting: Lighting Design: David Finn, recreated by Joseph Walls
  • PBT Performance Date: October 7-9, 2022

Program Notes

Helen Pickett’s award-winning The Exiled is an innovative work of art and a departure from traditional ballet, taking the form of a dramatic story told within the confines of a single room. The front wall is plexiglass, which creates an uncommon, disruptive barrier. It features narration through spoken word, as well as choreography, from the dancers.

The story is inspired by a play famous for the quote that “hell is other people,” and centers around three strangers destined to spend eternity together. Two characters known only as “Proprietors” function as the story’s narrators, curators and instigators, creating a cat-and-mouse dynamic in the group. Audiences will be entranced by the exploration of human choices and morality in this captivating story, and by Pickett’s thought-provoking message that “all possibilities rest in every human being”.

MUSIC DETAILS:  “The Theft”, “Death of Anna”, “Pope’s Betrayal”, “Kaspar’s Audition” from The Red Violin (movie) written by John Corigliano. By permission of Sony/ATV Music Publishing.   From “Three Hallucinations” (based on the film score to  “Altered States”): No. 2 : Hymn and No. 3 Ritual. By arrangement with G. Schirmer, Inc., publisher and copyright owner.