Adapted from Greil Marcus’ celebrated book, Lipstick Traces is a free-wheeling, explosive alternative history of the 20th century, filtered through the punk movement. Marcus’ book has been widely acclaimed as not only an unparalleled celebration of the milestone of punk rock, but as one of the great commentaries on 20th century contemporary culture. In The Rude Mechs’ theatrical adaptation, British pop impresario Malcolm McLaren joins forces with a tenacious, if somewhat manic, Dr. Narrator, to revisit those movements in culture that raised no monuments – movements that barely left a trace.  Johnny Rotten’s first audition for the Sex Pistols, a dada evening at the Cabaret Voltaire, and Michel Mourre’s 1950 siege on Notre-Dame are just a few of the spectacles along the way.  In the end, “nothing is true, everything is permitted.”