CultureHub Brings Celebrated Polish Indie-Theater KOMUNA//WARSZAWA to New York City

KOMUNA// WARSZAWA, the award-winning indie-theater company based in Warsaw and one of Poland's most important fringe companies, is taking up residence at CultureHub during November. The company will present its famed PARADISE NOW? THE LIVING THEATRE RE//MIX, a theater experience inspired by The Living Theatre's iconic 1968 production of the same name. The performance will take place for one time only,Thursday, November 19, 7pm at CultureHub.

Other Komuna events include the conference,The Relevance of Culture with American theater scholar Richard Schechner on Friday, November 20, 6pm and a performance inspired by Frank Herbert's Dune series on Saturday, November 21, 7pm.

PARADISE NOW? THE LIVING THEATRE RE//MIX

Thursday, November 19, 7PM
Admission Free
RSVP required

A CONFERENCE ON THE RELEVANCE OF CULTURE

Friday, November 20, 6PM
Admission Free
RSVP required

DUNE 1965

Saturday, November 21, 7PM
Admission Free
RSVP required

All programs take place at
CultureHub
47 Great Jones Street
New York, NY 10012
Info: 917.463.3917
www.culturehub.org

PARADISE NOW? THE LIVING THEATRE RE//MIX
Thursday, November 19, 7pm

Premiering in 1968 at the Festival d'Avignon, The Living Theatre's Paradise Now! sparked riots when naked actors called for an anarchist revolution. The now legendary performance became an icon of the 60's rebellion. In Paradise Now? The Living Theatre RE//MIX, Komuna// Warszawa presents a re-interpretation of the 60's classic and explores what has since changed in theater and politics.

Paradise Now? The Living Theatre RE//MIX marks an important conclusion in a research project that begun in 2013 when members of K// W traveled to New York City to interview The Living Theatre's co-founder, Judith Malina, at her nursing home, and asked her what paradise is and how to get there. Judith Malina died onApril 10, 2015. This production marks the end of an era, but also an opportunity to reach back to that classic of political theater.

Paradise Now? The Living Theatre RE//MIX, directed and performed by the members of the company, premiered in Warsaw in November 2013. The production is part of the company's innovative RE//MIX cycle that presents critical reinterpretations of influential works of 20th-century performing artists. The project resulted in the creation of over 30 premieres by directors, dancers, musicians and composers that reference classic works of the avant-garde. The RE//MIX cycle was named 'Event of Year 2012" by "Teatr".

A Conference on the Relevance of Culture
Friday, November 20, at 6pm, Free, Tickets

PARADISE NOW? RE//MIX THE LIVING THEATRE is a part of RE//MIX series, originated and curated by Tomek Plata, a longtime K//W collaborator (who is coming to NYC with them to talk about the project!) The premise draws on a musical concept of remix: one grabs some material from previously existing piece and incorporates it in a new original work, which - willingly or not - has to make a stance in relationship to the work/artists that inspired it. The brilliant thing about RE/MIX is, it starts with a lineup consisting of the most important performing artist of the past century, and re-interprets their work from the perspective of people who have been living in Eastern Europe, quite isolated from the American scene. RE//MIX artists have built their works from bits and pieces lifted from Tricia Brown, Merce Cunningham, The Wooster Group or Robert Wilson, among others - quite often imagining how they really looked like than experiencing them first-hand. This peculiar distance put them in an excellent position to pose interesting questions. What is a canon, anyway? And what makes an artist or work important and influential? On Fri, Nov 20, as part of the same mini-residency, there will be a panel discussion about this, moderated by Richard Schechner and introduced by Tomek Plata's presentation about the RE/MIX series.

Dune 1965
Saturday, November 21, 7pm

Komuna// Warszawa presents a contemporary retelling of Frank Herbert's Dune series, complete with film sequences shot in Iran and scenography designed by the Iranian artist Negar Farrajani. Herbert's Dune series is considered among the best works of science fiction literature. In Dune, Herbert anticipates some of the key philosophical and geopolitical debates of the early 21st century, including controlled genetic breeding, depleted energy resources, cultures and civilizations cross-pollinating, religious wars, and the survival of mankind.

ABOUT KOMUNA// WARSZAWA
Komuna// Warszawa is one of Poland's most important independent theater companies engaged in experimental work on the borderlines of performing arts, video and music. In its work, Komuna// Warszawa explores important contemporary subjects, ceaselessly searching for new forms and means of expression. It provides space for creative dialogue and collaborations. Komuna// Warszawa has produced shows by artists Monika Strz?pka and Pawe? Demirski, Marcin Liber, Pawe? Passini, Krzysztof Garbaczewski, Leszek Bzdyl, and AKADEMIA RUCHU Theater.

Komuna//Warszawa is the successor of the legendary Komuna Otwock, one of the most interesting and significant groups of the Polish independent theater scene. The 20-year history of the group is described in a book, Guide by Krytyka Polityczna, published under the patronage and with support of the Theatre Institute in Warsaw. More info: http://komuna.warszawa.pl/en/

Founded in 2009 by La MaMa and the Seoul Institute of the Arts, CultureHub has held over 300 events involving more than 200 artists from over 30 different countries. Through a diverse network of national and international partners, CultureHub provides an open and supportive environment for artists to incubate and present new works of art that integrate technology.

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