Rabinal Achi

An ancient Mayan play
Translated by Dennis Tedlock
Directed by Lakin Valdéz
May 4, 2014

This 600-year-old Mayan performative text is a rare example of pre-Hispanic tradition that is still performed in Mexico today. Told through masked dance, theater, and music, this origin story of the Mayan people reenacts a conflict between two major political entities and addresses popular and political subjects concerning the inhabitants of the region of Rabinal. Its survival is an outstanding historical, ethnical, literary, artistic, anthropological, sociological, and spiritual testimony to cultural resistance against colonial domination.

The Cutting Ball Theater’s 2015-16 season is made possible in part by Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Fleishhacker Foundation, Grants for the Arts / San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Mental Insight Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Kenneth Rainin Foundation, The RHE Charitable Foundation, The San Francisco Arts Commission, The San Francisco Foundation, and The Zellerbach Family Foundation, and Season Producers John and Paula Gambs, Ken Melrose, and Velia Melrose.