On May 27, the Bread and Puppet Theatre will attempt to incite revolution through puppetry at the Chilmark Community Center. The free show will come after a potluck of the company’s traditional bread and aioli and will begin at 7:30 p.m. The company will be touring the Island until May 31.

The theatre troupe is famous for its outlandish take on various social and political issues and biting satire, even going as far as skewering its own medium of puppetry. It was founded in the 1960s in New York city by Peter Schumann amidst protest and radical politics. This dynamic continues to be a part of group’s identity.

Their current show, The Situation, has gone through several changes since its early beginnings. The last performance was at the company’s farm in Vermont which they have owned since 1975. The show focuses on traditional issues of the day like wealth inequality, the environment and immigration, while also maintaining a dark sense of whimsy that puppetry and the company has grown famous for.

“The show taps into the need that we all see that the situation cannot go on,” said company performer Joseph Therrian. “The idea that things are going to have to change.”

The company has also played upon current social movements like Occupy Wall Street in the formation of the piece.

“It’s maybe the closest thing we’ve had recently to a social revolution,” said Mr. Therrian. “Or really, any kind of social conscienceness movement.”

But the company is quick to point out that this is less about their roots in the radicalism of the 1960s, and more about the current pressing need for issues of inequality to be addressed.

Yet the show is more than just a summary of political issues. Music, jokes and a plot line that includes an “Anti-Extinction Angel” animate the production.

“It’s not how hard to see how this could be serious or depressing,” said Mr. Therrian. “But it’s still fun. People really seem to enjoy it.”

For a full schedule of events, visit breadandpuppet.org/tour-schedule.