“War is inevitable — but there are miracles. Every day millions of people die, yet we live as if death will never touch us.”
-St. Vyasa, The Mahabharata
These words sit at the heart of one of the greatest epic poems— a meditation on war, death, and loss. Its core question is of a particular resonance: what should we fight for and why?
Over the past three years, in an attempt to understand this exact question, Theater Mitu has gathered hours of interviews with a range of communities worldwide: current and past members of military forces; citizens who have been directly affected by war; people diagnosed with terminal illness and their families; doctors, nurses, police, spiritual leaders, scholars, teachers, mental health professionals, and artists. As they touch upon, come to the edge of, and often confront death, each interview becomes a portrait of what is left behind — a remnant.
The result is a new work— part performance, part visual art installation. Engaging Theater Mitu’s interdisciplinary practice, this piece interjects interviews with found text, technology, and image. It affirms how loss can scar us, shape us, and at times propel us towards change—towards understanding what we should fight for and why.
