“Never Leaving This Boat — Fragments of a Blues Opera,” a provocative and challenging new work by Maine-based playwright Michael Gorman will
premiere Sept. 11 and 12 during National Recovery Month.

Performances are set for 1 and 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 12 at Steel House Amphitheater, 639 Main St., in Rockland. Sunday’s performance will include a community talk-back.

The performance charts the rise and fall of a young commercial fisherman through the intrusion of addiction and explores the role of myth and storytelling as both sustaining and destructive forces in a Northeast coastal fishing community.
Using Melville’s 19th-century monster as a metaphor for the modern plague of opioid addiction, Gorman explores the ruinous effects of the opiate epidemic on the commercial fishing industry in a tale that stretches across generations and ancients — lost mariners, lost souls, lost lives.
“Nevet Leaving This Boat” will tap into the deep ritualistic healing power of the blues — incorporating original live music and song, spoken word, performance, community participation, and testimonials — to restore connections lost or frayed by the compound crises of the opiate epidemic and COVID.
The production is part of Gorman’s ongoing project Chasing The New White Whale — Harpooning Addiction, a performance-based art and advocacy model created by the playwright and his production company The Forty Hour Club.
Tickets cost $15.

For tickets and more information, visit fortyhourclub.com, email donna@fortyhourclub.com or call 207-542-5114.

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