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Swashbuckling spectacle drops anchor in Red Hook

Swashbuckling spectacle drops anchor in Red Hook
Claire Sabattie

Red Hook’s favorite pirate hackers are back!

The Caravan Stage Company drops anchor next week at Gowanus Bay Terminal for its show “Hacked: The Treasure of the Empire,” a fantastical multimedia rock opera in which pirate hackers in a dystopian future sing, dance, and swing from the rigging of a tall ship high above the harbor. The socially conscious performance is designed to provoke the audience into contemplating the malevolence of the capitalist machine.

“I would like the audience to leave wanting to understand what they’ve just seen,” said Bernard Pearce, who was a cook in the nautical caravan before taking a role in the play. “I think the idea is to overwhelm the audience and then have them so intrigued they go back and start reading about it.”

The performance itself is a dazzling spectacle, combining a wide variety of artistic media to create a surreal post-apocalyptic vision. The travelling company last brought the show to Red Hook in September of 2014, but say that this year’s performance is new and improved, with new music, aerial performances, choreography, and video, resulting in an even fuller and richer vision than before.

“We were here last year and people’s jaws dropped,” said Pearce. “We reach for the stars and are constantly improving.”

“Hacked: The Treasure of the Empire” at Gowanus Bay Terminal [699 Columbia St. between Ikea and the end of the road in Red Hook, www.caravanstage.org, (904) 944–3698]. June 10–14 at 9 pm. $20 ($15 for students and seniors).

Reach reporter Allegra Hobbs at ahobbs@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260–8312.