On the Boards

On the Boards will present What Is War, a collaborative performance by Eiko Otake and Wen Hui, from October 9–11, 2025, at the Merrill Wright Theatre as part of the 25/26 season. Through movement, film, and archival materials, What Is War examines the enduring impact of war on bodies, memory, and place. Drawing from personal histories and historical narratives, Eiko and Wen engage in a cross-cultural dialogue on violence, resilience, and the ways war continues to shape the present. As a performance and research-based inquiry, What Is War resists conventional storytelling, instead offering a layered and fragmented meditation on history and survival. The work is informed by Eiko’s decades-long exploration of the body as a site of remembrance and Wen’s choreographic practice that intertwines dance with documentary and activism. Together, they navigate the weight of inherited trauma and the impossibility of fully understanding war’s devastation.