International Festival of Arts & Ideas Announces 2016 Season Highlights

The International Festival of Arts & Ideas (IFAI) today announced highlights of its much-anticipated 2016 season, June 10-25, featuring the U.S. premiere of "Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour," a critically and audience-acclaimed production from theNational Theatre of Scotland.

The annual two-week Festival in downtown New Haven celebrates the arts, ideas, and community with groundbreaking performances and provocative conversations with leading artists, thought-leaders, and innovators from around the world. The events take place in a variety of venues, including on the Green, and 80% of them are free admission. Performers include some of the most influential and innovative theater arts, classical, jazz, and dance figures of our time. Additional 2016 programming will be announced as dates and venues are confirmed.

Executive Director Mary Lou Aleskie said, "With the 2016 program, we have stepped up our game yet again, bringing extraordinary talent, creativity, and expertise to our community. Our audiences will be treated to two world premieres, four U.S. premieres, and two works co-commissioned by the Festival. The diversity of programs further establishes the Festival and New Haven as a major force for the presentation of world-class performing arts and as a catalyst for stimulating discourse about the key issues of our time."

The 2016 Festival is presented with major support from the Connecticut Office of the Arts, First Niagara, Yale University, Comcast/NBC Connecticut, the City of New Haven, the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Carolyn Foundation.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

U.S. Premiere of "Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour"
Yale Repertory Theatre, 1120 Chapel Street, New Haven, June 10-25, 2016

Named by The Guardian as one of the top ten stage plays in the U.K. last year, the delightfully raucous "Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour" is produced by the National Theatre of Scotland and adapted byLee Hall ("Billy Elliot") from the cult novel The Sopranos by Alan Warner. It will receive its London West End premiere in early August.

An exhilarating musical play that is both hilariously funny and poignant, "Our Ladies" is about six schoolgirls on the cusp of change. Love, lust, pregnancy, and death all spiral out of control in a single day when they venture to Edinburgh for a singing competition. With a soundtrack of classical music and 70s pop rock, featuring music by Handel, Bach, Bob Marley, and Electric Light Orchestra, "Our Ladies" is a life-affirming piece of musical theater.

Directed by Vicky Featherstone with Music Supervisor Martin Lowe ("Once"). Lowe won a Grammy, Tony, and Olivier award for his work on "Once." Hall won a Tony, Drama Desk, and Olivier award for his work on "Billy Elliot."

"Our Ladies" premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2015, winning four awards before embarking on a sell-out Scottish tour and run at Newcastle's Live Theatre.

World Premiere of new work by Wendy Whelan and Brian Brooks with Brooklyn Rider
Shubert Theatre, 247 College Street, New Haven, June 23-24, 2016

Co-commissioned by International Festival of Arts & Ideas, The Joyce Theater, and Modlin Center

for the Arts at University of Richmond, this new full-length work was created by Wendy Whelan, former New York City Ballet principal, and dancer and choreographer Brian Brooks. Whelan and Brooks previously collaborated on the duet "First Fall" for "Restless Creature," each taking creative risks in unfamiliar territory; classical and contemporary dance, respectively. This new work of solos and duets represents a continuation and extension of their exploration.Brooklyn Rider, the New York City-based string quartet, will perform live.

U.S. Premiere of "The Money"
Quinnipiac Club, 221 Church Street, New Haven, June 18-25, 2016

In this immersive theater experience, audience members opt to buy in to participate as a benefactor or observe among silent witnesses. As the clock ticks, the benefactors have 90 minutes to decide unanimously how to spend a pot of money. If they don't agree, the money rolls over to the next audience. A Kaleider production, every outcome of "The Money" is unique.

Abraham.in.Motion "The Live Music Program"
University Theatre, 222 York Street, New Haven, June 14-16, 2016

Kyle Abraham, Bessie award-winning choreographer and MacArthur Fellow, and his company Abraham.in.Motion will present works that combine refined movement with compelling themes of identity and race. "The Gettin'"features live music (a first for Abraham) with Grammy-winning jazz artist Robert Glasper and his trio re-imagining "We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite." "Absent Matter" is a new work created in collaboration with Blue Note recording artistOtis Brown III, multimedia artist Tahir Hemphill, and costume designer Karen Young.

"Steel Hammer"
Long Wharf Theatre, 222 Sargent Drive, New Haven, June 16-18, 2016

"Steel Hammer" is the latest collaboration from acclaimed composer Julia Wolfe, Obie-winning SITI Company, and the celebrated ensemble Bang on a Can All-Stars. The play inventively examines key contemporary social issues through the folk song "John Henry," the legendary steel-driver who challenged a steam drill in a man versus machine contest. It serves as a potent vehicle for examining the African American experience and the malleability of myth and fact. Music and the spoken word woven with movement, dance, and percussion on a variety of surfaces, including the performers' bodies, create a highly original theatrical experience.

"Air Play"
University Theatre, 222 York Street, New Haven, June 21-25, 2016

"Air Play" is a comic adventure of an epic scale for audiences of all ages. It follows the surreal journey of a brother and a sister as they encounter flying umbrellas, massive balloons, kites, and a monumental snow globe. Created by Acrobuffos and performed by the comedy duoSeth Bloom and Christina Gelsone, "Air Play" uses spectacular sets featuring Daniel Wurtzel's air sculptures. The show also spins the radio dial to create auditory air play, including Balkan gypsy music, Nordic boys' choirs, symphony orchestras, Italian avant-garde, and Appalachian ballads.

Advance tickets for "Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour" are currently available at www.artidea.org.

Tickets for Wendy Whelan and Brian Brooks, "The Money," Abraham.in.Motion "The Live Music Program," "Steel Hammer," and "Air Play" go on sale to IFAI members on March 29, and to the public on April 19, 2016. The complete 2016 Festival program will be announced March 29, atwww.artidea.org.