Waters to Direct Iizuka's STRANGE DEVICES at Berkeley Rep, 2/26-4/11

Berkeley Repertory Theatre will present the world premiere of Naomi Iizuka's new play CONCERNING STRANGE DEVICES FROM THE DISTANT WEST from February 26-April 11. The show explores the intersection of art and authenticity.

Iizuka explained, "I started writing this play because I was fascinated by a 19th-century photograph of a rickshaw driver. As I continued to look at old photos of Japan, I found myself asking more questions. Who was behind the camera, and why were so many people in the West drawn to these pictures? I wanted to understand the relationship between what we see, what we think we see, and the truth."

CONCERNING STRANGE DEVICES FROM THE DISTANT WEST shifts between the present and the 1880s when a weird new technology first seized the world in freeze frame. Cameras captured images of geishas, monks, and shrines and sent them to the future in a flash - where we continue to seek meaning through lenses of exoticism and xenophobia.

Naomi Iizuka penned 36 VIEWS, which received its world premiere at Berkeley Rep before
playing off Broadway. Her latest scripts, STRIKE-SLIP and GHOSTWRITTEN, premiered at the Humana Festival of New Plays and the Goodman Theatre respectively. Her other plays include 17
REASONS WHY; AFTER A HUNDRED YEARS; ALOHA; SAY THE PRETTY GIRLS; ANON(YMOUS); AT THE VANISHING POINT; CITIZEN 13559; HAMLET: BLOOD IN THE BRAIN (a collaboration with California Shakespeare Theater and Campo Santo + Intersection for the Arts); LANGUAGE OF ANGELS; POLAROID STORIES; SKIN; TATTOO GIRL; and WAR OF THE WORLDS (a collaboration with Anne Bogart and SITI Company).

Les Waters will direct CONCERNING STRANGE DEVICES FROM THE DISTANT WEST. Waters has served as associate artistic director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre since 2003. In the last five years, his shows have ranked among the year's best in The New Yorker, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Time Out New York, Time Magazine, and USA Today. Waters has a history of collaborating with prominent playwrights like Caryl Churchill, Charles Mee, and Wallace Shawn, and champions important new voices such as Will Eno, JorDan Harrison, Sarah Ruhl, and Anne Washburn. Last year, Waters and Ruhl made their Broadway debuts with IN THE NEXT ROOM (or the vibrator play), which began in Berkeley. He won an Obie Award for BIG LOVE, staging its premiere at the Humana Festival and subsequent runs at BAM, Berkeley Rep, the Goodman, and Long Wharf Theatre.

The production will feature Teresa Avia Lim (Kiku), Bruce McKenzie (Farsari), Kate Norris (Isabel), Danny Wolohan (Edmund), and Johnny Wu (Hiro).

A team of five talented designers have also helped develop this show. Mimi Lien (scenic
design) creates sets and environments for theatre, dance, and opera. Annie Smart (costume design) has designed sets and costumes for numerous theatres throughout the United States and her native England. Alexander V. Nichols (lighting design) has designed, scenery, lights, and projections for dance and theatre companies across America, and Bray Poor (sound design) worked with Waters on the Berkeley and Broadway productions of In the Next Room (or the vibrator play) and the Berkeley, New Haven, and off-Broadway productions of Eurydice. The stage manager for this production is Karen Szpaller.

To purchase seats, or for more information, including special events during the run of STRANGE DEVICES, call (510) 647-2949 or toll-free at (888) 4-BRT-Tix - or simply visit berkeleyrep.org.

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