BAM Presents the Highly Anticipated US Premiere of Three One-Woman
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BAM presents the highly anticipated US premiere of three one-woman Samuel Beckett plays—Not I, Footfalls, Rockaby— featuring a fearless performance by acclaimed Irish actor Lisa Dwan Directed by the playwright’s longtime collaborator Walter Asmus, the production comes to Brooklyn following sold-out performances at the Royal Court, a critically acclaimed West End run, and a UK and international tour that continues through September “The astonishing actress Lisa Dwan…doesn’t just uncover layers; she digs all the way to the void beneath them.” —The New York Times Bloomberg Philanthropies is the 2014-2015 Season Sponsor BAM 2014 Next Wave Festival sponsored by Time Warner Inc. Not I, Footfalls, Rockaby By Samuel Beckett A Royal Court Theatre and Lisa Dwan Production In association with Cusack Projects Limited Directed by Walter Asmus Set design by Alex Eales Lighting design by James Farncombe Music by Tom Smail Sound design by David McSeveney Presented in association with Irish Arts Center Talk— Beckett at BAM: A look into the BAM Hamm Archives With Jonathan Kalb and Sharon Lehner Sep 18 at 6pm BAM Fisher (Hillman Studio), 321 Ashland Place Tickets: $15, $7.50 for Friends of BAM BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton Street) Oct 7—11 at 7:30pm; Oct 12 at 3pm Tickets start at $20 Brooklyn, NY/Sep 4, 2014—This remarkable staging of three one-woman plays by Samuel Beckett—directed by the playwright’s longtime friend and collaborator Walter Asmus—shines a spotlight on the obsessive rhythms of existence: rambling, pacing, and rocking. Irish actor Lisa Dwan worked with legendary actress Billie Whitelaw (who originated all three roles) in preparation for her performances, which drew glowing reviews in the UK. In Not I, a woman— reduced to a mere mouth, suspended in total darkness—seeks solace in a blisteringly paced stream of her own broken speech. In Footfalls, a tattered soul, drained of life, paces relentlessly outside her dying mother’s bedroom. And in Rockaby, a woman slowly withdraws from the world, rocked to eternal sleep in her mother’s chair. The Sunday Telegraph wrote of the production: “A stunning performance from Lisa Dwan makes these Beckett plays moving as well as chilling.” Lisa Dwan has been performing Beckett to extraordinary critical acclaim since 2005. She first performed the legendarily demanding Not I at Battersea Arts Centre as directed by Natalie Abrahami. Dwan has subsequently worked with two of Beckett’s closest collaborators—Billie Whitelaw (who performed Not I on stage and film under the playwright’s direction) directed her in another turn of Not I at the Southbank Centre in 2009, and Walter Asmus directs the current Royal Court Theatre and Lisa Dwan Production of Not I, Footfalls, Rockaby. Dwan has also worked extensively in theater, film, and television both internationally and in her native Ireland. Film credits include: Not I, The Engagement, Walt Disney’s Oliver Twist with Richard Dreyfus and Elijah Wood, John Boorman's Tailor of Panama, and Bhopal–A Prayer for Rain. In 2012, she adapted, produced, and performed the critically acclaimed one-woman play Beside the Sea at the Southbank Centre and on tour, and starred in Goran Bregovic’s new music drama, Margot, Diary Of An Unhappy Queen at the Barbican. She recently performed in Ramin Gray’s production of Illusions by Ivan Viripaev at the Bush Theatre. The Royal Court Theatre is a leading force in world theater, finding writers and producing new plays that are original and contemporary. It strives to be at the center of civic, political, domestic, and international life, giving writers a home to tackle big ideas and world events and tell great stories. The New York Times has described it as “the most important theatre in Europe.” The Royal Court commissions and develops an extraordinary quantity of new work, reading over 3,000 scripts a year and annually producing around 14 world or UK premieres in its two venues. Over 200,000 people visit the Royal Court each year and many thousands more see its work elsewhere through transfers to the West End and New York, national and international tours, residencies across London, and site-specific work. Within the past 60 years, John Osborne, Arnold Wesker, and Howard Brenton have all started their careers at the Court. Many others— including Caryl Churchill, Mark Ravenhill and Sarah Kane—have followed. More recently, the theater has found and fostered new writers such as Polly Stenham, Mike Bartlett, Bola Agbaje, Nick Payne, and Rachel De-lahay, and produced such iconic plays as Laura Wade’s Posh, Bruce Norris’ Clybourne Park, and Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem. Royal Court plays are performed on stage and taught in classrooms around the globe. Director Walter Asmus was Beckett’s longtime friend and collaborator, assisting him on many of his productions in Germany, both at the Schiller Theatre in Berlin and for television in Stuttgart. His production of Waiting for Godot, which toured extensively internationally, featured a one-night-only performance in all 32 counties of Ireland in 2008, and was hailed as the definitive production of the play. For press information contact Adriana Leshko at [email protected] or 718.724.8021 Credits Bloomberg Philanthropies is the 2014-2015 Season Sponsor Time Warner Inc. is the BAM 2014 Next Wave Festival Sponsor Programming in the BAM Harvey Theater is endowed by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Major support for theater at BAM provided by The Francena T. Harrison Foundation Trust; Stephanie & Timothy Ingrassia; Donald R. Mullen Jr.; The Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund; The SHS Foundation; The Shubert Foundation, Inc. BAM 2014 Next Wave Festival supporters: Next Wave Festival supporters: Frances Bermanzohn & Alan Roseman; Brooklyn Community Foundation; William I. Campbell & Christine Wächter-Campbell; Aashish & Dinyar Devitre; Judith R. & Alan H. Fishman; Ford Foundation; The Francena T. Harrison Foundation Trust; Diane & Adam E. Max; McKinsey & Company, Inc.; Henry and Lucy Moses Fund, Inc.; The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation; The SHS Foundation; Pablo J. Salame; The Shubert Foundation, Inc; The Winston Foundation, Inc. Your tax dollars make BAM programs possible through funding from the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts. The BAM facilities are owned by the City of New York and benefit from public funds provided through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs with support from Mayor Bill De Blasio; the New York City Council including Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Finance Committee Chair Julissa Ferreras , Cultural Affairs Committee Chair Jimmy Van Bramer, the Brooklyn Delegation of the Council, and Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo; and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. BAM would like to thank the Brooklyn Delegations of the New York State Assembly, Joseph R. Lentol, Delegation Leader; and New York Senate, Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Delegation Leader. General Information BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, and BAMcafé are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). Both locations house Greenlight Bookstore at BAM kiosks. BAM Fisher, located at 321 Ashland Place, is the newest addition to the BAM campus and houses the Judith and Alan Fishman Space and Rita K. Hillman Studio. BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn’s only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafé, operated by Great Performances, offers a bar menu and dinner entrées prior to BAM Howard Gilman Opera House evening performances. BAMcafé also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music for BAMcafé Live on Friday and Saturday nights with a bar menu available starting at 6pm. Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center (2, 3, 4, 5 to Nevins St for Harvey Theater) D, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Train: Long Island Railroad to Atlantic Terminal – Barclays Center Bus: B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM For ticket information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit BAM.org. ### .