Richard Maxwell & New York City Players to Bring ISOLDE to Theatre Junction GRAND

For only five performances in Canada, Richard Maxwell and the New York City Players bring from New York City to Calgary their critically acclaimed ISOLDE, presented by Theatre Junction GRAND from February 10 - 13, 2016.

"Richard Maxwell is one of those rare theatre artists who speaks directly to the faint heart-beat of our times - simple, direct, mysterious. Isolde re-awakens an ancient myth in a contemporary landscape where mythology is reduced to selling real estate. If you are to see one play in Calgary this year, this is it!" said Mark Lawes, Artistic Director of Theatre Junction.

ISOLDE is inspired by the legend of Tristan and Isolde. In his play, the marriage of Patrick and Isolde appears happy. Patrick is the owner of a successful construction company and Isolde is a star actress, although she finds herself increasingly unable to remember her lines. When she decides to build her dream house, her husband is eager to help, although the project is jeopardized by Massimo, an award-winning architect whom Isolde hires.

Each character in this modern, but timeless, love triangle brings different perspectives and opposing ideas: Massimo is a fantasist, Patrick a pragmatist and Isolde is caught in the middle where their conflict reflects the turmoil of her own condition.

Considered one of the most adventurous theatre artists that America has produced in decades, director, playwright and Guggenheim fellow, Richard Maxwell, has presented his work in over sixteen different countries winning two OBIE awards for separate works. Having studied acting at Illinois State University before joining the renowned Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago, Maxwell founded the Cook County Theater Department.

Now as artistic director of the New York City Players, he has transformed the company into one of those rare theatres that subvert from within the conventions of American theatrical realism to create a theatre of the real, dominated by the performative dimension of dramatic art.

"I've been working for five years to bring Maxwell here. This is Calgary's chance to see one of those rare theatre artists that cannot be ignored or forgotten once seen," added Lawes.

"Though [Maxwell]'s written a tale of infidelity, he seems most interested in the different kinds of architecture, real and metaphorical, involved: the way buildings hold memories, the mental scaffolding we rely on in daily life, and the mythic repertoire underlying ordinary relationships." - Village Voice

Tickets are on sale at theatrejunction.com or 403.205.2922.

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