Performance Artist Crackhead Barney Transitions from Street Activism to Theater with New Play

Performance artist Crackhead Barney, known for confrontational street interventions in New York City, is presenting her new theatrical work GOD IS RAPING ME at Pageant in Brooklyn. The production runs for two sold-out performances this week. Barney developed the hour-long show during a residency at the Chocolate Factory Theater in Long Island City, where it premiered as a work-in-progress in February. The performance combines narrative elements with audience participation and features direction by Nile Harris, musical accompaniment by Rabbistravinsky, and appearances by Danny Tantrum and Rell Bones. Barney studied art and communications at Hunter College on scholarship and cites Marina Abramović, comedian Eric Andre, and the late Pope.L as influences. Her street performances have included interactions with public figures such as Alec Baldwin, Don Lemon, and Quentin Tarantino, as well as political demonstrations. In 2020, she was committed to a psychiatric facility after attending a Trump rally on Staten Island. Barney expresses frustration with sanitized contemporary art, referencing the Whitney Biennial as 'disgusting,' and advocates for art that engages with current political realities through absurdity and chaos. She believes art should reflect the insanity of contemporary society, drawing inspiration from historical movements like Dada and Surrealism.