Planet of the Grapes

A pandemic performance pioneer Peter Michael Marino’s playful parody of the 1968 classic, “Planet of the Apes.” The internationally acclaimed, award-winning production takes audiences of all ages on an epic, 60-minute adventure fusing Victorian era Toy Theater with what’s been called one of the most groundbreaking science fiction films of all time. What is “Planet of the Grapes” about? An astronaut crew crash-lands on an unfamiliar planet in the distant future and are enslaved by a society where grapes have evolved into speaking creatures with human-like intelligence. The original film’s themes of science vs. religion, biased class systems, and mankind’s self-perceived entitlement to everything on Earth strongly resonated with Marino, who peppers the script with passages inspired by Rod Serling’s original screenplays. What is Victorian Toy Theater? The early 18th century ushered in Europe’s Toy Theater movement, where adults and children assembled mass-produced paper replicas of popular plays that included the script, stage, scenery, and characters. Toy Theater literally brought theater into homes.

This on demand digital capture of a live performance is available to view online via The Living Record Festival through 22 February, 2022.