Surfacing: An Inventory of Helplessness at Atlas Performing Arts Center

In this play by Russian/Austrian writer Julya Rabinowich, three characters live in captivity, invisible to the world: a female refugee hiding underground, fearing deportation, and traumatized by her journey across cultures; a kidnap victim locked in a basement at the mercy of her perpetrator, and a young man imprisoned in his own home due to the threat of blood-revenge against his family. Each is trapped, isolated, and unable to surface or take part in everyday life. The play explores their mental states, survival strategies, and the way their minds work through cycles of hope, fear, anger, and desperation. In a world where millions of people are fleeing oppression and dealing with hopelessness, this thought-provoking production opens our eyes to the plight of the marginalized, dispossessed, and downtrodden.