Play Dead

Set in a universe of domestic trappings and interlocking stories, People Watching’s new creation ‘Play Dead’ observes the beautiful, twisted and laughable facets of human behavior. Through its dynamic physicality and visual storytelling, the piece puts forth a surrealist chronicle of the familiar. Far from settling into bored fatalism, ‘Play Dead’ marvels at the absurdity of the mundane and celebrates life with a pulsing desire for connections and intimacy, the same way people desperately dance to the last song before the party ends.

About People Watching

People Watching is a collective comprising six multidisciplinary artists currently based in Montreal. Founded in the tumultuous spring of 2020, they were initially moved to investigate ways in which intimacy could be shared with an audience during a time of profound seclusion. The inquisitive nature of this creative process led them to fuse their organic acrobatic research with elements of physical theatre and nuanced choreographic work. By providing the awe-inspiring qualities of contemporary circus with a scaffolding of depth and context, People Watching began to establish a body of work that is intimate and inherently human. Using live performance, film, and photography as a vehicle for their artistic endeavours, they have found local and international recognition, which in turn has fostered collaborations with a multitude of established creatives and companies.