Photo by David Cooper.

Epilogos: The point in a speech where the reader attempts to build an emotional response from the audience.

“Rhetoric then may be defined as the faculty of discovering the possible means of persuasion in reference to any subject whatever.” ― Aristotle, Rhetoric

Epilogos is built around the art of rhetoric and the commodification of morality. The appropriation of moral codes and value systems has been used to exert control by dictators, politicians and royalty. In Epilogos, the performance on stage becomes a device of persuasion, persuading the audience to see the power of each value in the moral code and the strength of the characters within these values. For Epilogos, we base each performance from the moral code of Bushido, the way of the samurai: duty, integrity, compassion, courage, honour, truth and morality.

Epilogos builds its performance language off a blending of theatre, dance, martial arts and the interaction of these elements to video and live sound. In Epilogos, all the performance elements are generated from a single character “the orator”. This character acts as a catalyst for the entire performance, wherein the performance itself is a piece of promotion, propaganda or something to believe in. Utilizing bio-mechanical sensors, the simplest gesture has the ability to affect the entire performance environment and its performers.

Presented by Shay Kuebler and Radical System Art.