A shirtless person stands center stage, arms outstretched and head tilted back, as powder dramatically bursts around them in orange lighting.
A bearded man kneels shirtless on the ground, splashing water from a black bucket onto his shoulder, with a dark background and dramatic lighting highlighting his muscles.
An older woman gently holds a man’s shoulders and waist. They face each other with serious expressions against a dark, plain background.
Two men in beige pants, shirtless, face each other in a dramatic, low-lit dance pose with outstretched arms, appearing to balance and resist each other on a dimly lit stage.

Tom at the Farm

NEW SEASON ANNOUNCED!

MEMBERS PRE-SALE BEGINS AUGUST 20

Tickets will go on sale to the General Public starting September 3 at 12pm.

Tickets are up to 20% OFF for Members this season! Plus, NYU Skirball Members gain access to exclusive online and in-person events offering behind-the-scenes insights into our artists and our productions.

Become a Member!

MEMBERS LOG IN(opens in a new tab)

ABOUT

Tom drives out from the city for his boyfriend’s funeral and discovers the family never knew their son was gay. His brother intends to keep it that way. What grows between them is stranger than a standoff: threats that slide into tenderness, a grieving stranger pulled deeper into a family that will not let him leave or let him be known.

Rodrigo Portella stages Michel Marc Bouchard‘s play on a ring of open earth that comes to stand for a whole country turning back on itself. Winner of the top prizes of the Brazilian stage and having toured across Europe, Canada, and Latin America, the production makes its U.S. premiere at NYU Skirball on its way to London’s Barbican.

ADVISORY
This production features sexual content and nudity.

RUN TIME
Approximately 2 hours, no intermission

LANGUAGE
This production is performed in Portuguese with English subtitles. 

Three reasons to go

AHEAD OF THE CURVE – A New York stop on a global tour before its London engagement at the Barbican.

AWARD WINNING – One of the most decorated Brazilian productions of the past decade, honored with major national theater prizes and widely seen on the international festival circuit.

DRAMATIC THRILLS – A taut psychological thriller that turns a single farmhouse into a pressure cooker of desire, threat, and silence.

THE ARTISTS

Rodrigo Portella

Rodrigo Portella

Michel Marc Bouchard

Michel Marc Bouchard

Armando Babaioff

Armando Babaioff

CREATIVE CREDITS

Based on the play by: Michel Marc Bouchard
Adapted by Armando Babaioff
Director: Rodrigo Portella
Set Designer: Aurora dos Campos
Lighting:Tomás Ribas
Costume Design: Bruno Perlatto
Musical Direction: Marcello H.
Choreography and Movement: Toni Rodrigues
Lighting Technician: Tiago D’Avila
Stagehand: Thiago Katona

Featuring: Armando Babaioff, Denise Del Vecchio, Iano Salomão, Camila Nhary

Social Media: Victor Novaes
Executive Production: Dalila Tardelli
Executive Production: Priscilla Kern
International Production: Marcelo Veloso
Production Management: Sérgio Saboya and Silvio Batistela – Galharufa Produções
Administrative / Financial: Letícia Napole and Marina Paiva – Vianapole Arte e Comunicação

GALLERY

BEYOND THE STAGE
A person stands as a burst of red powder or liquid explodes outward from their body against a black background, creating a dramatic visual effect.

Study Guides

Tom at the Farm

Prep School: Tom at the Farm

Learn More

PRESS

A visceral voyage that you take at your own risk. It is bold and bloody but still beautiful. In its own dark, twisted way, it shines a light on homophobia and grief and unashamedly forces you to sit up and face reality

British Theatre Guide (on TOM AT THE FARM) British Theatre Guide (on TOM AT THE FARM)

Violent beauty bordering on the sublime… an exceptional theatrical moment

Journal La Terrasse (on TOM AT THE FARM) Journal La Terrasse (on TOM AT THE FARM)

A staggering study of homophobia. Coupled with the stately pace of a broody, intense production, it makes this farm not just a reactionary backwater, but a cultural dead end. The play becomes not just about the death of a son but about the death of hope. It is as cruel as it is mesmerising

The Guardian (on TOM AT THE FARM)

SUPPORT

NYU Skirball’s programs are made possible in part with support from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; and the Howard Gilman Foundation; Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels; Culture Ireland; The Shubert Foundation; Collins Building Services; General Delegation of the Government of Flanders to the USA; Goethe Institut New York with support from the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany; Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation; Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; New England Foundation for the Arts; Harkness Foundation for Dance; and Marta Heflin Foundation; as well as our valued donors through memberships, commissioning, and Allies for Arts Access Fund support.