Look FLOAT EXAMINE EXPLORE

SALOME A princess lovely in the moonlight, all are compelled to gaze upon her. Everyone except Iokanaan, whom she thinks she loves. She is commanded to dance by her step-father, Herod, and in exchange she is promised anything her heart desires. Is it her own will or that of her mother that makes her ask for such a fatal gift?

HERODIAS She is the proud, hard Queen married to Herod the Tetrarch of Judea after he deposed, imprisoned and executed her first husband, Salome's father. She is slandered by Iokanaan who remains alive against her will. She knows how everyone watches Salome dance and sees danger, but also opportunity there.

IOKANAAN Also known as: Saint John the Baptist. He is a prisoner of King Herod. Locked in the cistern of the palace and raging at the immorality of Salome and Herodias. Unfortunately, he will not live much longer in this world. You play as the spirit Iokanaan given one more night to put out the lights of your own existence.

OSCAR Wilde’s Salome

“Neither at things, nor at people should one look. Only in mirrors should one look, for mirrors do but show us masks.” Oscar Wilde

Salome is a first century Judean princess mentioned in the Christian Bible by Matthew and by Mark. But it is Oscar Wilde's 19th century play “Salome” that really inspired Fatale. In the Bible, Salome is a child who dances for King Herod and asks the head of John the Baptist as a reward. In Wilde's version, Salome falls in love with the prophet. He rejects her and she has him executed.

Fatale takes place in the aftermath of those events, when all has turned quiet and the moon brings comfort to troubled hearts. The interpretation of Salome is something worth playing. In the ply the repeated reference to looking and seeing form the core experience of this interactive tableau. Wilde's text becomes a whispered soundscape. You float as a spirit given one night to look as you please. To look at the world, and to finally look at Salome, not as a Princess but for the girl that she is.

“Salomé, Salomé, dance for me. I pray thee dance for me. I am sad to-night. Yes, I am passing sad to-night. When I came hither I slipped in blood, which is an evil omen; and I heard, I am sure I heard in the air a beating of wings, a beating of giant wings. I cannot tell what they mean .... I am sad to-night. Therefore dance for me. Dance for me, Salomé, I beseech you. If you dance for me you may ask of me what you will, and I will give it you, even unto the half of my kingdom.”