Presented by and developed at 3LD Art & Technology Center
A strange and provocative theatre work that utilizes the construction of a Greek drama and the sensibility of a classic Fairy Tale to examine the ramifications of antique guilt on the modern conscience. Following a Greek king who abandons his war torn country for the safety of a cliff-side cave, the play travels one thousand years through the extended lifespan of the tormented ruler, a man who simply will not make a decision about how to handle his human responsibilities, and until he does so, cannot die. This punishment, or gift, is the verdict of an unnamed political council, who observes but remains distanced during his years of decadent, amoral, ethical elusion.
NYC PREMIERE | THEATRE | OFFSITE at 3LD Art & Technology Center (80 Greenwich St.)
Thu, Jan 6 – Sun, Jan 9 / Wed, Jan 12 – Sat, Jan 15 8PM
Extends beyond COIL 2011 through January 23.
“Dandy theatrical experimenteur…mind bending sex comedy.” – Time Out, New York
“…one of the highlights of the fall season at Performance Space 122.” – NY Times
Downtown’s enfant terrible delivers a frisky and hyper-stylized sex comedy that shoots straight into the heart of marriage in America. Behind this Technicolor Romantic Pastoral lies a glittering and scathing indictment of rules and regulations, rituals and rites of spring. A foursome and a sexton breach the boundaries of matrimonial shackles and dive headlong into a hedonistic lifestyle with complex consequences.
The Archery Contest sends up the tragic-comic foibles of human desire straight-jacketed by antiquated dogmas and outdated notions of marriage, ultimately asking: in a country steeped in tradition yet hungry for change, how can we escape our puritanical past and move into an unfettered future?
Hotel Savant, a theatre company based in New York City, explores the seminal ideologies of history and mythology and their impact on contemporary narrative. Utilizing a variety of performance techniques that include pageantry, dance and tableau, they create original works and revive obscure texts that correlate to present day topics.
Featuring: Richard Toth, Hillary Spector, Carey Urban, Alexander Borinsky, Jeff Worden
Playwright/Director: John Jahnke; sound designer Kristin Worrall; set designer Peter Ksander; lighting designer Miranda Hardy; video designer Andrew Schneider; and costume designer Carlos Soto.
Presented by Performance Space 122. Developed at 3LD Art & Technology Center; with additional support from Art International Radio (AIR), NYSCA, NY Department of Cultural Affairs and The MacDowell Colony and a Commission Grant from the Jerome Foundation. Photo (c) 2009 Josef Astor.
“Jahnke directs with elegance and insight. He provides a luscious sightscape and coaxes excellent work from his actors.” – Village Voice
The world premiere of a trenchant play by legendary Susan Sontag is brought to life in a visionary staging by John Jahnke, founder of The Hotel Savant and former member of Reza Abdoh’s Dar a Luz. In this poetic yet gritty deconstruction of the opera, Wagner’s innocent knight is instead an Uzi-toting soldier seeking arbitrary sex and violence. Jahnke crafts a phantasmagoric epic in which to pit the individual against the system and pose Sontag’s unflinching questions of consequence, accountability and blame.
Featuring Black Eyed Susan, Gardiner Comfort and Okwui Okpokwasili
Approximate running time: 1 hour 5 minutes
February 23-March 5, 2006
Opens Thursday, February 23, 2006
Wednesday-Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday at 5 p.m.
Sunday Afternoon Discovery Feb 26
$20($10 Members)
Please note:
No late seating
