LOVE AFTER DEATH

Love After Death follows a group of five individuals as they mourn a shared loss. Their visits to the site of her death lead them to build and maintain a shrine. Over a period of time, they deal with some of the emotions of grief, together and alone. Love After Death follows a group of five individuals as they mourn a shared loss. Their visits to the site of her death lead them to build and maintain a shrine. Over a period of time, they deal with some of the emotions of grief, together and alone. Inspired by observing roadside shrines, Julia Ritter set out to examine the diversity of our human reactions to loss, and the ways in which we seek meaningful memorial for our loved ones. Examining both private grieving and public rituals, the company sought to compassionately portray some challenging experiences of grief, and to present the effects of loss without flinching from, or judging, the extremes of behaviour to which it can lead. Finally, the piece explores the need for grieving rituals to be guided by the emotions of their participants, however expressed. Love After Death was first performed as a large scale, site-specific work in July 2000. It was collaboratively created by artists from both USA and Europe, who brought to the project a variety of skills in dance and singing as well as music and script writing.