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The week ahead: Theater

From left to right, Diego Buscaglia as Con and Alana Osborn-Lief as Nina in “Stupid [Expletive] Bird.” Danielle Fauteux Jacques

Irreverent ‘Bird’

STUPID [EXPLETIVE] BIRD Playwright Aaron Posner has crafted a deliciously irreverent adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull” that captures Chekhov’s bemusement with the theater world’s posers while also plumbing the depths of romantic frustration among a collection of self-absorbed characters. Director Danielle Fauteux Jacques has gathered a fearless ensemble (pictured: Diego Buscaglia and Alana Osborn-Lief) that delivers full-throttle performances oozing with emotional fervor. The result is a funny, occasionally thought-provoking evening that would surely give Chekhov a giggle. Through April 26. Apollinaire Theatre Company, at Chelsea Theatre Works. 617-887-2336, www.apollinairetheatre.com

TERRY BYRNE

Theater

GOOD TELEVISION David J. Miller directs the New England premiere of Rod McLachlan’s behind-the-scenes look at reality TV, in which the producer of an “Intervention’’-like show titled “Rehabilitation,’’ played by Christine Power, prepares to build an episode around a South Carolina meth addict and his family. April 25-May 17. Zeitgeist Stage Company, at Plaza Black Box Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-933-8600, www.zeitgeiststage.com

DON AUCOIN

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BIG APPLE CIRCUS: LUMINOCITY Times Square comes to City Hall Plaza as the annual visitors in this hybrid newfangled/old-school circus bring their current show to town. It’s a bustling intersection of crane-your-neck marvels — the “free ladder” stuntman, the teeter-board acrobats — and comic diversions such as a flimflam man and a world-class clown in a Gilligan hat. Through May 11. At Boston City Hall Plaza. 888-541-3750, www.bigapplecircus.org

JAMES SULLIVAN

DANCE

MOTIONHOUSE Dancers seem to spill out of faucets, cascade over waterfalls, and climb up flowing streams in the celebrated UK company’s “Scattered,” which explores the elemental nature of water. This intriguing dance work combines live movement and film projected against a curved sliding wall that facilitates all manner of elegantly athletic physicality. April 19, 8 p.m., $35-$45. Zeiterion Theatre, New Bedford. 508-994-2900, www.zeiterion.org

TRIVENI ENSEMBLE Neena Gulati and her talented troupe of classical Indian dancers present “The Sacred and the Sensuous,” in which danced stories portray many ways of expressing devotion to Lord Krisna. April 19-20, $20-$50. Boston University Dance Theater. 617-232-5485, www.brownpapertickets.com

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ON THE THRESHOLD OF BEGINNING Mariah Steele/Quicksilver Dance presents its annual performance at Simmons Hall at MIT, featuring two new works with original music by composer Ryan Edwards: “On The Threshold of Memory” and “The Constant Effort of Beginning.” The concert also includes the premiere of a dance/film collaboration with video artist Sarah Outhwaite. April 18-19, 8 p.m., Free. Simmons Hall, 229 Vassar St., Cambridge. www.quicksilverdance.com

LIMITLESS Boston Conservatory’s dance students hit the mother lode with this concert. They will perform a premiere by Prometheus Dance’s Tommy Neblett, Mark Morris’s “Canonic 3/4 Studies,” Karole Armitage’s colorful “Rave,” and the new “Fits of Hissy” by Complexions Dance Company artistic director Dwight Rhoden. April 16-19. $25-$30. Boston Conservatory Theater. 617-912-9222, www.bostonconservatory.edu

KAREN CAMPBELL

GALLERIES

DEAR BOSTON: MESSAGES FROM THE MARATHON MEMORIAL After the marathon bombings, an impromptu memorial rose up: running shoes, notes, flowers, and more, left as tokens of remembrance and compassion. They were archived, and many make up this exhibition. Through May 11.McKim Exhibition Hall, Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston St. 617-536-5400, www.bpl.org

BLED FOR BOSTON In photos and testimonials, Chris Padgett documents the Boston-themed memorial tattoos that have proliferated since the bombings, many provided by tattoo shops that donated proceeds to the One Fund Boston. Through April 30. Boston Center for Adult Education, 122 Arlington St. 617-267-4430, education.bcae
.org/bledforboston.html

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BOSTON STRONG? Artists Darrell Ann Gane-McCalla, Shea Justice, and Jason Pramas use collage, drawing, and conceptual practices to weigh the media’s response to, and public interest in, the marathon bombings versus criminal assaults in Boston in the last year. Through April 22. Lothrop Auditorium, Community Church of Boston, 565 Boylston St. 617-506-9515, www.questionbostonstrong.com

CATE McQUAID

MUSEUMS

KNIGHTS! A first step in the long-term integration of the Higgins Armory’s collection into the Worcester Art Museum, this exhibition places a selection of European, Asian, African, Middle Eastern, Indian, and Ancient arms and armor in the context of related works of art. Worcester Art Museum, Worcester. 508-799-4406, www.worcesterart.org

PERMISSION TO BE GLOBAL/PRACTICAS GLOBALES: LATIN AMERICAN ART FROM THE ELLA FONTANALES-CISNEROS COLLECTION The first survey of contemporary Latin American art hosted by the MFA. Featuring work by 46 artists from Central and South America and the Caribbean, all from a single collection. The show was first seen at Art Basel Miami Beach late last year. Through July 13. Museum of Fine Arts. 617-267-9300, www.mfa.org

NICK CAVE Deliriously colorful and brilliantly constructed “Soundsuits” — part sculpture, part avant-garde fashion, part political statement — and several kitschy assemblages and wall sculptures by the inventive Chicago-based artist. Through May 4. Institute of Contemporary Art. 617-478-3100, www.icaboston.org

NATALIE DJURBURG + HANS BERG: A WORLD OF GLASS An installation of 193 polyurethane sculptures, on four tables, and four compelling (if somewhat eye-popping: it’s not suitable for young children) Claymation video projections by the Swedish artist Djurburg, with accompanying music by the Swedish composer Berg. Through July 6. Institute of Contemporary Art. 617 478 3100, www.icaboston.com

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SEBASTIAN SMEE

In remembrance

MEMORIAL INSTALLATION Artist Kathleen Simone has made the weathered banners that flew over Old South Church on Marathon Day 2013 into a textile memorial. Plus, an installation of a thousand paper cranes, which travel to churches near sites of violence — most recently, Newtown, Conn. Through April 22.

Old South Church, 645 Boylston St. 617-536-1970,
www.oldsouth.org/one-year-later

CATE McQUAID


Don Aucoin can be reached at aucoin@globe.com.