How do you look the enemy in the eye? A human rights lawyer receives an unusual proposal: to organize a yoga workshop for the leaders of Peru’s most notorious terrorist groups. Can those responsible for such suffering be changed? ‘The Therapist’ is above all a settling of accounts with past demons. The play takes us back in time through our protagonist’s early years, marked by abandonment and solitude. A time when violence stalked the country, as well as home.

The Asylum Theatre is proud to present THE THERAPIST a new English translation by resident playwright Gigi Guizado of Gabriela Yepes’ award-winning Peruvian play LA TERAPEUTA. There will be two performances at Winchester Dondero Cultural Center Theatre on Saturday, June 24th, 2023, at 2 PM with a post-matinee discussion, and at 7PM. The one-woman show will tour to Barons Court Theatre in London, UK on July 4th through July 8th, 2023.

The original Spanish version LA TERAPEUTA won Best Peruvian Play at the 2019 Premio Luces Awards. The new English translation, now published by Inti Press, evolved as part of an ongoing international development process with the Out of the Wings Festival, a group based at King’s College that showcases plays in translation via year-round table reads, discussions, and theatre events.

The Asylum’s Artistic Director, Sarah O’Connell, will direct and produce the production in collaboration with Barons Court Theatre, a fellow member of the World of
English Speaking Theatres (WEST) association founded in partnership with ProEnglish Theatre of Ukraine.

“We are honored, once again, to bring local, Las Vegas arts to the world stage through our collaborations with the Out of the Wings Festival and Barons Court Theatre in the UK. This work explores the resilience it takes to be free and heal from the trauma of brutality. The Asylum dedicates this production to the ProEnglish Theatre of Ukraine and fellow members of WEST currently enduring devastating acts of authoritarian violence around the world.” – Sarah O’Connell, Artistic Director

Out of the Wings (OOTW) was established in 2008 as a UK Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded research project. OOTW is dedicated to exploring, translating and sharing with English-speaking audiences the wealth of Hispanic and Lusophone playwriting across history. Co-founder Catherine Boyle will join The Asylum’s audience via zoom for a talkback following the Saturday, June 24th matinee performance.

The Asylum Theatre exists to connect audiences to new work and artists to each other. Founded in 1997, it is a global gateway in Las Vegas, Nevada for contemporary voices championing creative collaboration, cultural exchange, translation, and new work development; funded by the Nevada Arts Council and NEA.