Filter Theatre's WATER Makes US Premiere at BAM, Now thru 11/17

BAM presents the US premiere of Water, an intimate yet boldly inventive theatrical exploration of climate change and the human experience, tonight, Nov 13-17, 2013.

Water, produced by the Filter Theatre and Lyric Hammersmith and created by Filter Theatre and David Farr, is directed by David Farr with set design by Jon Bausor, lighting design by Jon Clark and music and sound design by Tim Phillips.

The show plays the BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton St) Nov 13-16 at 7:30pm; Nov 17 at 3pm. Tickets start at $20.

Half-brothers in Canada clash over the legacy of their dead father. An environmental advisor attempts to push through a deal at a political summit. A young man prepares to dive the deepest freshwater cave in the world, located in Mexico. Utilizing Filter Theatre's signature theatrical style of on-stage video and sound creation, Water examines how an increasingly unstable world of climate change is affecting human life. With a plot that "leapfrogs through time, space, and memory but never threatens to leave the audience behind thanks to superb acting and mind-blowing attention to detail" (Metro UK) the play's disparate storylines flow together by exploring the act of bonding, central to water's make up. The result is an "impressively intelligent and sensitive" (Independent) investigation of whether or not humans are capable of connecting emotionally with one another.

Led by actors Oliver Dimsdale and Ferdy Roberts and composer Tim Phillips, Filter has been creating innovative, exciting theater since 2003, and been heralded as "one of Britain's best and boldest devising companies" (Metro UK). Filter's unique collaborative language explores the interaction between sound, music, text, and movement with the aim of creating stories that awaken the imaginative senses of an audience.

Talk: On Climate Change

With David Farr and Daniel P. Schrag, director of the Harvard University Center for the
Environment
Moderated by Robert Lee Hotz

BAM Hillman Attic Studio
(30 Lafayette Ave)
Nov 16 at 5pm
Tickets: $15 ($7.50 for Friends of BAM)

Filter is at the forefront of contemporary theater-making as an incubator of new work. Its first show, Faster, inspired by James Gleick's book about the acceleration of everyday life in the modern world, was developed and first performed at the Battersea Arts Centre in April 2003, where it was a runaway hit with audiences and went on to play the Soho Theatre and the Lyric Hammersmith, tour the UK, and visit Germany and the US. Water, directed by David Farr for the Lyric Hammersmith, became one of the most talked about productions of 2007; it was revived for the Tricycle in 2011 and played the Sydney Theatre Company in 2012. Silence, the second collaboration between Filter and Farr, premiered in May 2011. Commissioned and produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, it's a gripping modern thriller with a complex narrative that cuts, in film-like fashion, between Russia and the UK.

Alongside original work, Filter has produced dynamic and innovative interpretations of classic texts including Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle for The National Theatre (2006); Shakespeare's Twelfth Night for the RSC and The Tricycle Theatre (2007); Chekhov's Three Sisters for the Lyric Hammersmith (2010); and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream for a UK tour and Lyric Hammersmith/Manchester Royal Exchange (2012). New works in the pipeline include a response to Shakespeare's Macbeth for The Tobacco Factory in Bristol and A Western-directed by Michael Boyd and written by David Greig-which explores the various cultural collisions that led to the creation of the United States of America. To find out more, visit www.filtertheatre.com

David Farr is a writer, director, and associate director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he recently directed Hamlet. He was previously artistic director at the Lyric Hammersmith, where he established the Lyric as a driving force in high-quality visual theater. His other directorial efforts, many of which he also adapted, include the 50th anniversary production of Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party (2008); Tamburlaine at the Barbican in 2005; The UN Inspector, a free adaptation of Gogol's The Government Inspector, at The National Theatre in 2005; and his own play, Night of the Soul (2001). Farr's work as a playwright is published by Faber & Faber and his plays have been performed in London's West End and The National Theatre, as well as throughout Europe, the US, and Israel. He also wrote regularly for the BAFTA Award-winning television series Spooks and co-wrote the Joe Wright feature film Hanna starring Cate Blanchett. Farr was last at BAM with Metamorphosis (2010 NWF), a collaboration between Lyric Hammersmith and Iceland's Vesturport theater company.

Lyric Hammersmith encourages contemporary theater-makers to be inspired by the uniquely vivid and intimate relationship between stage and audience in the 550-seat,19th-century classical auditorium that serves as its main theater. The work in this space develops from direct relationships with directors, designers, and companies who want to explore the full theatrical potential of the space.

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, and BAMcafe? 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 651Fulton 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. BAMcafe?, operated by Great Performances, offers small plate and prix-fixe dinner menus prior to BAM Howard Gilman Opera House evening performances. BAMcafe? also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music for BAMcafe? Live on Friday and Saturday nights with a drink and small plate 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 and BAMbus information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit BAM.org.