The Book of Thel

The Book of Thel is an original stage adaptation of the eponymous poem written and illuminated in 1789 in England by William Blake, a visionary poet and artistic genius. The Book of Thel portrays the initiatory journey of a young woman grappling with the great paradox of the human condition: why live if we must die? In a lush valley, nature tries to offer her answers. Thel thus speaks with a flower, a cloud, and an earthworm. She even ventures underground into the world of the dead. In her new creation, Clea Minaker collaborates with a painter, a musician, and a puppeteer, using the handcrafted mechanisms of theatrical illusion to travel through the heroine’s mental landscape. Performing solo on stage, Clea Minaker invites us into a poetic, singular, and inspired universe, where William Blake’s questions resonate with those of the contemporary creator she is.