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VOYNICH

Nick Gillette Improv

Theater, Clown, Storytelling & Spoken Word

Connect

How can we communicate when words fail? If the need is desperate enough, can we escape language and still be understood?

The Voynich Manuscript is a real, 15th century codex written in an unknown language. Alongside 240 pages of text in a unique alphabet, it depicts people bathing in strange contraptions, botanical details of unknown plants, and astrological star charts unlike any on earth. Some scholars suggest it is a complex hoax, yet text analysis and information theory suggest the letter and word frequency match those of a real language.

VOYNICH is an Homeric tale of love, loss, and redemption performed in that mysterious, unknown language. Fringie award winning artist Nick Gillette transcends the language barrier with physical theater, mask, and object puppetry.
Details
Run Time: 55 mins
Ticket Price: $25

PWYC Options $5+

Venue: Asian Arts Initiative Black Box Theater

Dates: September 13, 2026 - September 27, 2026

September 13, 2026 8.15pm

1219 Vine Street

General Admission: $25

PWYC Options

September 18, 2026 7.00pm

1219 Vine Street

General Admission: $25

PWYC Options

September 19, 2026 6.30pm

1219 Vine Street

General Admission: $25

PWYC Options

September 26, 2026 3.30pm

1219 Vine Street

General Admission: $25

PWYC Options

September 27, 2026 6.30pm

1219 Vine Street

General Admission: $25

PWYC Options


About the Artist

Nick Gillette is an award winning physical theatre artist, co-founder emeritus of Almanac Dance Circus Theatre, and since 2006 an instructor and performer of improv in Philadelphia. He teaches narrative medicine at Temple University. He is a graduate of the Pig Iron School for Advanced Performance Training, a 2014 New York Live Arts Fresh Tracks resident artist, a 2016 Colgate University Christian A. Johnson resident artist, and a former resident artist at the Philadelphia School for Circus Arts, and winner of the 2021 FringeArts Audience Choice Award for best comedy. With Almanac he has collaborated to devise and perform Communitas (2014), Nightfall (2014), The Fleecing (2015), Leaps of Faith and Other Mistakes (2015 & 2017), IAMMADEOFSTARS (2016), Exile2588 (2016), Demon Magick Seminar (2017), and J/J/J/J (2018). Co-creator of The Wadsworth Constant, running since 2015. He has performed with Cabaret Red Light, BRAT Productions, Lighting Rod Special, Pig Iron Theatre Co., Alex Bechtel, International Contemporary Dance Festival of Mexico City, Vancouver International Improv Festival’s International Ensemble, and Philly Improv Theater. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and two children.

  • Nick Gillette Writer/Performer nick.gillette@gmail.com
    Nick Jonczak
    Writer/Director nicholas.jonczak@gmail.com
    Fred Brown
    Writer/Composer fcbrown@gmail.com

Accessibility & Content Considerations

Contact the Fringe Festival Box Office for up to date accessibility information.

This event is appropriate for ages 13+

Violent Content

Strobe/Flashing Lights

Audience Interaction

Covid-19 Safety policy

This event does not require masks to be worn


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