Tuesday, April 23, 2024The single set across LaMama's The Downstairs is the Wall. Not a mock-up of the geographically impossible one threatened for the U.S./Mexico borders, but the equally controversial Israel−Gaza security barrier. A lightning rod in U.S-Middle Eastern diplomacy, in Amir Nizar Zuabi's Grey Rock, it cannot block creativity or dignity. Zuabi, who also directed his play for the newly-formed Remote Theater, provides a blast-off point for The Occupation. Part of the wall opens revealing Yusuf (Khalifa Natou), a retired TV repairman and former political prisoner, studying blueprints in his shed. Without telling his daughter Lila (Fida Zaidan) or young friend Sheik (Motaz Malhis), Yusuf is
Tag: lamama
La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival: “Les Choses Dernières” & “To Catch A Terrorist”
The opening weekend of the acclaimed La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival featured the only two headlining works which would perform at the Ellen Stewart Theater -- an intimidating space for such intimate dance pieces. One, Lucie Grégoire Danse Company’s Les Choses Dernières: the New York premiere of a solo work made famous by the Montreal-based choreographer, now passed on to another dancer, and the other, Egyptian creator/performer Adham Hafez and HaRaKa Platform’s To Catch A Terrorist: a world-premiere of a new work and collaborative effort that utilizes spoken word as much as body language. Both explored disturbing topics that are