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Social Acupuncture
Theatre doesn’t have much relevance anymore. Or so acclaimed playwright Darren O’Donnell tells us. The dynamics of unplanned social interaction, he says, are far more compelling than any play he could produce. So his latest show, A Suicide-Site Guide to the City, isn’t really a show; it’s an interactive chitchat about memory, depression, and 9/11, a dazzling whirl of talking streetcars, pizza and schizophrenia. And it’s hilarious.
O’Donnell’s artistic practice has evolved into ‘something as close to hanging out as you can come and still charge admission.’ With his theatre company, Mammalian Diving Reflex, O’Donnell has generated a series of ongoing events that induce interactions between strangers in public; the Talking Creature, Q&A, Home Tours, the Toronto Strategy Meetings and Diplomatic Immunities bring people together in odd configurations, ask revealing questions and prove the generosity, abundance and power of the social sphere.
Social Acupuncture includes the full text of A Suicide-Site Guide to the City and an extensive essay on the waning significance of theatre and the notion of civic engagement and social interaction as an aesthetic.
O’Donnell’s artistic practice has evolved into ‘something as close to hanging out as you can come and still charge admission.’ With his theatre company, Mammalian Diving Reflex, O’Donnell has generated a series of ongoing events that induce interactions between strangers in public; the Talking Creature, Q&A, Home Tours, the Toronto Strategy Meetings and Diplomatic Immunities bring people together in odd configurations, ask revealing questions and prove the generosity, abundance and power of the social sphere.
Social Acupuncture includes the full text of A Suicide-Site Guide to the City and an extensive essay on the waning significance of theatre and the notion of civic engagement and social interaction as an aesthetic.
- GenresNonfictionArtTheatre
112 pages, Paperback
First published March 19, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 14, 2025
This is the kind of book I'll read more than once. There are many thoughts and intuitions about the place of art/creativity in society. The book successfully pulled on me both emotionally and rationally, appealing to my sense of agency. I would recommend this to the right people - these kinds of ideas would not resonate or make sense to all. The play at the end was a fascinating look at Toronto/world in 2003/2004.
November 23, 2018
Enjoyed this, the type of art he's interested in making is similar to the type of art i'm interested in making.
Wasn't as into his social/political critique section at the start of the book.
in the script of his show, I thought it was cool how he referred to when he wrote different sections.
Wasn't as into his social/political critique section at the start of the book.
in the script of his show, I thought it was cool how he referred to when he wrote different sections.
June 8, 2012
On my list of top favorite books of all time. It made me question everything I thought about theater and everything I thought about activism. If you are at all interested in social justice, theater, or performance art, this book is a must-read.
November 9, 2007
this book rocks!
November 17, 2015
I don't agree with everything he wrote but he's asking great questions that we in the theatre need to ask and think about!
Want to read
July 26, 2011It just sounds curious?
& makes me wonder how he chose to approach the writing of it?
:)
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews