Bananaland

President Richard Nixon eyes a banana with suspicion on a visit to Central America.
President Richard Nixon eyes a banana with suspicion on a visit to Central America.
"Bananaland: A Central America Theme Park" graphic with a large banana behind two diverse hands shaking. Also included is a hidden clues challenge captioned "Can you find the hidden object(ive)s in this picture?" Hidden clues include imagery depicting the exploitive capitalist relationship between the United States and Central American countries. CONCEIVED & ORCHESTRATED BY GEORGE KING & RUBY LERNER JULY 7-24, 1988 SEVEN STAGES THEATRE 1105 EUCLID AVENUE IN LITTLE FIVE POINTS THURSDAYS AT 8 P.M. FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS AT 8 & 10 P.M. SUNDAYS AT 5 P.M. TICKETS: TEN DOLLARS. GROUP RATES AVAILABLE. BOX OFFICE: 523-7647 FUNDED IN PART BY THE THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS, THE GEORGIA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS, THE FULTON COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL AND THE CITY OF ATLANTA.

In 1988, Ruby Lerner and George King created Bananaland
the critically-acclaimed performance/installation in 7-Stages Theater, Atlanta, Georgia. Bananaland was an indoor Theme Park where the ‘theme’ was the history of American foreign policy in Central America told through the banana trade and its octopoid embodiment, the United Fruit Company.

The 1988 press release announcing “BananaLand”

Narrative of the BananaLand Project


The program (below) served as a visitors’ guide to Bananaland’s tours, exhibits, videos, cabarets and features such as the restaurant and bar, library, and of course–the gift shop!

Bananaland—the Movie, shot in glorious VHS, is the only remaining audio-visual documentation of the Bananaland experience.

Bananaland used performances, media, and visual art to tell the story of the United Fruit Company’s history in Central America. Many members of Atlanta’s visual arts community collaborated with King and Lerner in creating the Park’s exhibits: Elizabeth Lide, Barbara Schreiber, E.K. Huckaby, Tyler Stallings, Pat Courtney, Tony Loadholt, Mary Margaret Wade, Sheri Moore, Steve Walker, and Normando Ismay–whose epic paintings are seen below.

Banana Plan 1

Image 5 of 5

Bananaland Reviews

“Banana Picking and Foreign Policy”, Steve Murray; American Theatre, August 1988

“The Great Central American Scream Machine”, Dab Hulbert; The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, July 15, 1988

“Redecorating the Fourth Wall: Environmental Theatre Today, Steve Nelson; The Drama Review

PR, Propaganda, and Infotainment, Paul Evans; The Drama Review, Winter 1989