August 19, 2016

“Ketamine: The Musical” Opened In Brooklyn

At first glance, most people would instantly assume that Ketamine: The Musical is a play destigmatizing the ever-growing use of the drug in the nightlife circuit.

The truth is, however, that the musical isn’t exactly what it appears to be at first at all. The sold-out show just opened at Bushwick’s House of Yes two nights ago to great reviews, narrating the highs and lows of a drug that has more recently found itself into widespread mainstream recreational use.

When talking to Fusion, producer and House of Yes co-founder Anya Sapozhnikov was quick to point out that the show aims to go beyond the obvious instant shock-value, “Ketamine has kind of become this almost unavoidable background to the scene that we’re in right now,” she stated. “I don’t want to say that ketamine defines the nightlife here, but people do it in the same way that people did LSD in the ’60s and cocaine at Studio 54. I mean, we’re so in the thick of it. You create art based on what’s relevant around you, what you’re living and breathing—not that we’re literally breathing ketamine, of course.”

Of course ketamine usage isn’t new, but in fact dates as far back as the 80’s when, in New York’s vibrant party scene, users turned to the Schedule III controlled substance for its dissociative properties. Fast forward to today, and we now know that “the Food and Drug Administration has fast-tracked trials of the drug for approval as an official means for treating patients with depression and suicidal tendencies, in addition to its ongoing legal use as an anesthetic.”

Surprisingly, Ketamine: The Musical contains little dialogue and even less lyrically driven musical numbers, as Fusion reports. In fact, Sapozhnikov admits that the title was inspired by something she heard at Mysteryland USA, when a passer-by asked, “What is this, Ketamine: The Musical?!” upon seeing her and some other performers hanging out. Split into three acts, the performance includes plenty of acrobatics, aerialism, puppetry, song, and of course dance. Through these medium, the performers take viewers on a journey through a man’s deep dive into a K-hole and back out, all the while he learns of “You Live At Least Once” – a new mantra referred to as “YLALO” which is a clear alternative and play on both Drake’s “You Only Live Once” and M.I.A.’s “You Always Live Again.”

“My personal crusade isn’t destigmatizing drug use,” Sapozhnikova said. “It’s destigmatizing all sorts of shame. I don’t think Ketamine: The Musical is going to encourage drug use necessarily. I mean, maybe it will, but I think people going to parties where drugs are available and people feeling lonely and isolated are what encourage drug use. Our show is a fun, creative experience, and maybe it will create a space for people seeking help to begin to feel comfortable talking about that.”

Clearly, the intention of the show is not to encourage or glorify recreational drug use. Sapozhnikova is quick to point out that the answer to that question is kind of neither here nor there. Rather, it is understood that people are already doing ketamine, even while sitting at Ketamine: The Musical‘s opening night. The aim is then to encourage a positive setting that admits and acknowledges that ketamine is a fact of nightlife and not such a taboo subject as it has been considered in the past.

H/T: Fusion