What does resistance look like when it’s woven with poetry, song and ritual? MEND, a neighborhood-grown theatrical spell, offers an answer. This anti-capitalist dramatic comedy dismantles the traditional stage-audience divide, inviting viewers into a multi-sensory world of projections, shadow puppets, live music and collective imagination. It’s called a theatrical spell because “we’re not telling the story in the classic theatrical sense,” says cast member Shachar Efrati. “We’re telling the story through song, through light, through video projection, through dramatic speeches. We’re casting a spell in that regard.” Written and directed by Jack Jackson, MEND follows a bard who finds the will to create poetry again after apocalyptic destruction. Alongside other survivors, the poet helps rebuild a vision of a new world — one rooted in community care and collective resistance. Efrati, a poet in real life, plays the bard and wrote much of his character’s verse. “It’s the most relevant to our times right now, because it’s about fighting fascism, and because it’s about community organizing and community care,” he says. The production is 100 percent volunteer-driven, with all proceeds supporting Black Thistle Street Aid, Pacific Refugee Support Group and Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. Black Thistle and other mutual aid organizations table in the lobby before and after the play, encouraging participation in community activism. During the show’s opening weekend, Efrati says that audiences left moved, sometimes in tears, and inspired. “We’re not just leaving them with inspiration,” Efrati says. “We’re hopefully also helping them become activated and motivated to really be part of the revolution.”

MEND is 4 pm to 6:15 pm Saturday, Nov. 22, and Sunday, Nov. 23, at The Lavender Network, 440 Maxwell Road. Suggested donation $20-$40. No one turned away for lack of funds. Visit feralcreatrix.faso.com/event/226894 or @wemendus on Instagram.