I WANT A COUNTRY To Have New York Premiere At FringeNYC

I Want a Country written by Andreas Flourakis and translated by Eleni Drivas will have its New York Premiere at The New York International Fringe Festival. The production is directed by Lyto Triantafyllidou and produced by HDGP Productions, The Greek Cultural Center, and presented by The New York International Fringe Festival. Casting is currently underway and will be announced at the beginning of September.

"How did it come to this?" A group of disillusioned individuals ask as they embark on a search for a "new" and "improved" country. But is this a search of a new country or a game of rhetoric? Are they truly in search of a new country? Can they create a ¨perfect" country?

I Want A Country, is a theater performance where a group of people strive to create a new country, demanding to immediately, collectively and actively define their lives. The characters of I Want a Country have lost their country - in a geographical and/or ideological way. Believing there is no escape from their current state, they map their time ahead declaring a New Country. Their inability of reaching a consensus on a variety of issues begs the questions: Have we reached a political turning point? Can democracy be enough?

Written in 2013 in an unconventional, chorus inspired structure, in order to discuss a current popular demand in Greece, I Want a Country overcomes the geographical borders of its country. Exploring the aftermath of the financial crisis on a personal and collective level, the play advocates for social change. Is there a dream country? Can a society reinvent itself? Or will the ideal country remain a utopia?

In keeping with the festival spirit, this year, all audience members will meet at The FringeHUB, 685 Washington Street (Between Charles & Perry) and will be walked to the theatre by a Fringe Ambassador. All theatres are within 3 blocks of the FringeHUB. Tickets are $22 and are available at https://bit.ly/1jeNx8n. Running time: 1:15.

Performance dates:

Saturday, October 20 @ 4:00 pm

Sunday, October 21 @ 8:15 pm

Thursday, October 25 @ 7:15 pm

Saturday, October 27 @ 4:15 pm

More info is available at www.iwantacountry.net and www.fringenyc.org.

I Want a Country was first produced in June 2013 at Royal Court Theatre, Upstairs (London). Other notable performances include the production of the play at Athens and Epidaurus Festival (2015). Since then, I Want a Country has been produced in different festivals and platforms in Greece, Europe and the United States. Its New York Premier is produced by HDGP productions, a newly founded company with the purpose of producing transnational work, bridging the cultural gap between the continents. HDGP mission is to develop and bring historically charged and socially relevant writing to the stage and to a multicultural audience.

Andreas Flourakis is considered one of the most innovative voices in the Greek theatre scene and part of a new generation of playwrights born in the 1969 in Athens. Flourakis participated in the Royal Court International Residency in 2001, served as visiting professor on Playwriting at The University of Kansas and several institutions in Greece as well. Honors include a Writer in Residence Award at the Royal Court International Residency (UK), a Fulbright Artist Award (USA), a Diploma of Filmmaking (Greece) and a MA in Writing for the Stage and Broadcast Media at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (UK). In theatre he makes his first appearance in 2001 with the collaborative play Faith (Theatre of the South). In 2003 he is received special distinction in the one-act play contest organized by the Art Theatre Karolos Koun, in 2006 his play ANTILOPES is chosen at the JANUS Project for New Plays and New Playwriting across Europe.