Tuesday, December 01, 2009

"The Last Cargo Cult" Looks At the Meaning of Money - Speakeasy - WSJ:

Mike Daisey, the theater monologist who made waves with “How Theater Failed America” in 2008, and who followed up with “If You See Something, Say Something,” is back with “The Last Cargo Cult” at the Public Theater in New York. The show, directed by Jean-Michele Gregory, starts previews on Dec. 3 and opens Dec. 7.

So-called “cargo cults” are religious groups that spring up as a result of a technologically advanced society’s contact with one that is less developed in that area. In his show, Daisey explores the meaning of money and the recent international financial crisis while recounting his visit to the South Pacific Island of Tanna, a place with almost no currency, where some inhabitants have built religious rituals around the U.S. and American artifacts. Daisey talked to Speakeasy about his coming show.