HUSK is an original play by Elaine Kim and Kasia Zarzycka, with light and set design by Florence Lam, and sound design by James Caven. Performances at Loeb Ex in December 5-7, 2019.

“My father passed away and I don’t know what to do.”

"HUSK" is a new devised physical theatre play written and directed by Elaine Kim and Kasia Zarzycka.

Perdita thought she understood the story of her life. It was a journey of ambition, romance, a family.

Then a HUSK arrives on her doorsteps. Thanks to the HUSK, Perdita's life is thrown into disarray, and the initially naturalistic world of the stage quickly turns into a surreal nightmare as the woman's dreams begin to interfere with her reality.

As Perdita navigates her new reality, she is forced to confront and process the past traumas in her life. Her story is one of shattered identity, dissonance and deluded idealism - a personal tragedy. At the same time, the musicality of the performance poses questions about the possibility of empathy and transformation that takes place at the moment the self is most vulnerable and destabilized. In an atmosphere of porous selves, the audience is a part of the performance, part of the work.

In the poetic reality of “HUSK”, memories and dreams become physicalized. 





A play that does not center around the spoken word. “HUSK” aims to call attention to sensations rather than knowledge, to variations of the heart rather than intellectual epiphanies. Its world exceeds any text that claims to express it. A slight move of hand, a fixed gaze, a sudden pause, vanishing smile, they carry more meaning than any word.

In our piece we want to tell a story that escapes the capacity of language, so we resort to our bodies as a means of storytelling. When we say certain words, there’s a vast realm of what remains unspoken and unspeakable. What is leftover in my heart may find expression in my body. The body is free to express what the structures of language cannot encapsulate. ︎

︎︎︎Scenes from HUSK

︎︎︎Poster design for HUSK