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The River
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Written by Jez Butterworth, author of Jerusalem – the play that earned him a Tony Award nomination in 2011 – The River now comes for the first time to DC. This gripping new drama that thrilled and mesmerized audiences during sold-out runs in London and New York was described by The Guardian as "strange, eerie, tense and, on a single viewing, slightly unfathomable." The River is directed by Rebecca Holderness, a frequent artistic collaborator at Spooky Action, who will be remembered for her popular, sold-out productions of Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami and The Wedding Dress by Nelson Rodrigues.
"Working at Spooky Action is very special to me," says Rebecca Holderness. "Each time I come to work I am met by a different kind of play – always challenging and interesting. Never the everyday play. The production values are very high and the actors wonderful. Yet the space provides for a rare intimate experience of theatre."
Jez Butterworth began writing The River during the Broadway run of Jerusalem, and he decided to create something totally different. While Jerusalem is a three-hour, 16-character epic, The River is much shorter (90 minutes) and it is a three-character romantic drama. The River is a haunting and seductive play about a Man who brings a Woman to his secluded fishing cabin. Under the new moon, their pursuit is sea trout – and an instant of perfect love and primal desire, elusive as the one that got away. This woman, this moment, is the one: mythical and mysterious as The River itself. In Spooky Action Theater's production, the Man is Jeff Allin, Helen Hayes Award winner for Glengarry Glen Ross, at Round House Theatre. The Woman is interpreted by Emma Jackson, while Karen Novack completes the cast as The Other Woman.
"Working at Spooky Action is very special to me," says Rebecca Holderness. "Each time I come to work I am met by a different kind of play – always challenging and interesting. Never the everyday play. The production values are very high and the actors wonderful. Yet the space provides for a rare intimate experience of theatre."
Jez Butterworth began writing The River during the Broadway run of Jerusalem, and he decided to create something totally different. While Jerusalem is a three-hour, 16-character epic, The River is much shorter (90 minutes) and it is a three-character romantic drama. The River is a haunting and seductive play about a Man who brings a Woman to his secluded fishing cabin. Under the new moon, their pursuit is sea trout – and an instant of perfect love and primal desire, elusive as the one that got away. This woman, this moment, is the one: mythical and mysterious as The River itself. In Spooky Action Theater's production, the Man is Jeff Allin, Helen Hayes Award winner for Glengarry Glen Ross, at Round House Theatre. The Woman is interpreted by Emma Jackson, while Karen Novack completes the cast as The Other Woman.
The Man Who
by Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne
inspired by The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks
directed by Richard Henrich and associate director Elena Day
with: David Gaines, Tuyet Thi Pham, Carlos Saldana and Eva Wilhelm
Oliver Sacks saw his patients as heroes, moving with courage and tenacity through realities stunningly altered by neurological quirks. “This is the valley of astonishment,” says Peter Brook.
"One of the most magically effective explorations of the mind (also possibly the soul) ever to be attempted on the stage." –The New York Times
May 11 – June 4, 2017
On stage, four actors move seamlessly between their roles as both patients and doctors. As in Sacks' book, The Man Who patients suffer from deeply peculiar, sometimes tragic, neurological conditions. The traumas responsible for their conditions are sometimes mentioned, but it is their personal stories that are arresting and compelling. One patient is convinced she is living a continuous dream and plots a desperate strategy to wake herself up. Another patient's memory stopped working 27 years ago, and he now uses humor and imagination to shape an everchanging present unlinked from the past. And of course, there is the man who mistook his wife for a hat, who replaces his loss of visual recognition with a special music to engage each task and reclaim his life.
with: David Gaines, Tuyet Thi Pham, Carlos Saldana and Eva Wilhelm
Oliver Sacks saw his patients as heroes, moving with courage and tenacity through realities stunningly altered by neurological quirks. “This is the valley of astonishment,” says Peter Brook.
"One of the most magically effective explorations of the mind (also possibly the soul) ever to be attempted on the stage." –The New York Times
May 11 – June 4, 2017
On stage, four actors move seamlessly between their roles as both patients and doctors. As in Sacks' book, The Man Who patients suffer from deeply peculiar, sometimes tragic, neurological conditions. The traumas responsible for their conditions are sometimes mentioned, but it is their personal stories that are arresting and compelling. One patient is convinced she is living a continuous dream and plots a desperate strategy to wake herself up. Another patient's memory stopped working 27 years ago, and he now uses humor and imagination to shape an everchanging present unlinked from the past. And of course, there is the man who mistook his wife for a hat, who replaces his loss of visual recognition with a special music to engage each task and reclaim his life.
Rameau's Nephew
by Shely Berc and Andrei Belgrader
from Le Neveu de Rameau by Denis Diderot
directed by Richard Henrich
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Oct 20 - Nov 13, 2016
featuring Robert Bowen Smith and Ian LeValley*
Spooky Action opens its 2016-2017 Season with Rameau's Nephew, a play that was too hot to put into print when it was written (1761-1776), and author Denis Diderot allowed it to circulate only in manuscript. Musician, maniac, madcap, mimic… and genius all in one, the destitute nephew of the famous Rameau trades witticisms with a logical Philosopher, deconstructing his perfectly rationalized and orderly world with wildly antic energy. The Nephew transforms into an entire cast of hilarious characters as he sets each scene of his argument. Laughably witty, wise and thought-provoking, this physical comedy is a delight for the eyes and the mind.
“Why Rameau? Because it makes me laugh,” says director Henrich, “and because it’s about genius. I laugh at Rameau the mimic, who can’t describe a character without slipping into his skin and exuberantly becoming him – or her. The play tickles me beyond all reason and makes me feel the demon genius of Rameau has slipped under my own skin as well.”
The production design team includes Giorgos Tsappas (set design), nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Set Design for Jarry Inside Out (a Spooky Action Production); Erik Teague (costume design), who also received a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Last of the Whyos (another SAT production); Brittany Shemuga (lighting design); and David Crandall (sound design).
*Member Actors' Equity Association
..
Oct 20 - Nov 13, 2016
featuring Robert Bowen Smith and Ian LeValley*
Spooky Action opens its 2016-2017 Season with Rameau's Nephew, a play that was too hot to put into print when it was written (1761-1776), and author Denis Diderot allowed it to circulate only in manuscript. Musician, maniac, madcap, mimic… and genius all in one, the destitute nephew of the famous Rameau trades witticisms with a logical Philosopher, deconstructing his perfectly rationalized and orderly world with wildly antic energy. The Nephew transforms into an entire cast of hilarious characters as he sets each scene of his argument. Laughably witty, wise and thought-provoking, this physical comedy is a delight for the eyes and the mind.
“Why Rameau? Because it makes me laugh,” says director Henrich, “and because it’s about genius. I laugh at Rameau the mimic, who can’t describe a character without slipping into his skin and exuberantly becoming him – or her. The play tickles me beyond all reason and makes me feel the demon genius of Rameau has slipped under my own skin as well.”
The production design team includes Giorgos Tsappas (set design), nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Set Design for Jarry Inside Out (a Spooky Action Production); Erik Teague (costume design), who also received a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Last of the Whyos (another SAT production); Brittany Shemuga (lighting design); and David Crandall (sound design).
*Member Actors' Equity Association
