The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced its programming for the 2015-2016 World Stages series. With a long history of presenting original international theater works, the Kennedy Center brings leading theater companies and artists from abroad to present three cutting-edge and contemporary productions next season.
The 2015-2016 World Stages series brings Seuls, written, directed, and performed by Wajdi Mouawad from France and Canada; Sancho by the Gate Theater in Ireland; and The Odyssey: from Vietnam to America by Vân-Ánh Võ Company in Vietnam. Further production details will be announced at a later date.
The 2015-2016 Kennedy Center World Stages Season:
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Seuls
Written, directed, and performed by Wajdi Mouawad, France/Canada
Eisenhower Theater
September 18 – 19, 2015
Wajdi Mouawad was born in Lebanon in 1968, and moved from there to Paris and then Montreal by the age of nine. In his semi-autobiographical reflection, he presents a man who moved to a new country as a child from his home to escape civil war. He loses himself in a new context and language; compromising his self-knowledge and capacity for happiness by his childhood emigration. One of the most widely produced playwrights in Canada and France, Wajdi Mouawad’s works include Littoral, Incendies, Forêts, and Ciels, among others. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and has won numerous awards for his works, including the Governor General’s Award, the Quebec Critic’s Circle Award, the Nestroy Award, and Le Masque. His play Incendies was adapted into an Acadamy Award® nominated film for Best Foreign Language Film by Denis Villeneuve. He was previously the artistic director of the National Arts Centre in Ottowa and the Théâtre de Quat’Sous in Montreal, and he helped create the companies Abé Carré Cé Carré in Quebec and Au Carré de l’Hypoténuse in France. Seuls has been performed in Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Lebanon, and Russia.
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Sancho Gate Theater, Ireland
Terrace Theater
October 23 – 24, 2015
The production is written by and stars celebrated British actor Paterson Joseph and is directed by Thea Sharrock. Paterson is a regular at both the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre UK and was last seen in New York as Brutus in the RSC’s Julius Caesar at BAM. Born on a slave ship in 1729, later becoming the fellow actor and friend of David Garrick and the first black person of African origin to vote in Britain, the life of Charles Ignatius Sancho was full of surprising, moving, and funny twists. On the day Thomas Gainsborough paints his famous portrait, we are given an insight into the forgotten but true story of an African man who dared to act, write, sing, dance, and voice his political opinion with wit and charm.
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The Odyssey: from Vietnam to America
Vân-Ánh Võ Company, Vietnam
Terrace Theater
March 11 – 13, 2016
Marking the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, Vân-Ánh Võ’s The Odyssey: from Vietnam to America explores the personal and spiritual journey of “boat people” escaping war and abandoning their lives for an alien and unknowable future. The work utilizes new music for Vietnamese and Western instruments, ambient sound, spoken word, historical objects, and live media. It is the first of a triptych that will embrace the parallel experiences of Cuban and Haitian‐ American immigrants, conveying stories of human transformation that will resonate for all refugees. Vân-Ánh Vanessa Võ is an award-winning musician and composer, known for her mastery of the “dan tranh zither,” a unique Vietnamese instrument. She has performed in over 14 countries at such venues as Carnegie Hall, Zellerbach Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center. Among her accomplishments are the 2009 Emmy Award winning soundtrack for the documentary Bolinao 52; the soundtrack for the Sundance Best Documentary and 2003 Academy Award® nominee Daughter from Danang; the soundtrack for the documentary A Village Called Versailles; and her own recordings Twelve Months, Four Seasons, She’s Not She, and Three-Mountain Pass. Artists and performances are subject to change.
TICKET INFORMATION
To receive subscription information by mail, call the Subscription Office at (202) 416-8500. Subscriptions may be purchased in advance of general on sale dates. Groups of 20 or more may contact Kennedy Center Group Sales at (202) 416-8400. Dates for sales of individual tickets will be announced at a later date.
From: The Kennedy Press Office.
