Mint Theater Extends NY Premiere of CONFLICT

Mint Artistic Director Jonathan Bank today announced Mint Theater Company's Streaming Series featuring HD recordings of past productions, will extend the broadcast of the acclaimed New York Premiere of Miles Malleson's political love story Conflict.

Conflict will now be available online through November 8th, at Mint's virtual theater, MintTheater.org. "Mint is proud to have our artists back on payroll while offering audiences an opportunity to experience great plays and productions from the safety and comfort of your own home. We are gratified to know that we are providing a lift to out-of-work actors while sharing the Mint experience with old and new friends from around the world," said Mr. Bank.

"The thing I miss most about live theater is seeing shows in small houses, sitting in the midst of happy audiences who know they're watching something special. For me, one of the off-Broadway troupes that best satisfies this craving is the Mint Theater Company, which specializes in unjustly forgotten 20th-century plays. The works they choose, no matter how obscure, are always worthy of revival, and their finely wrought small-scale productions make the strongest possible case for the plays. Imagine my delight, then, when the Mint announced earlier this year that it's been stockpiling broadcast-ready three-camera archival videos of its productions since 2013, and that it planned to brighten up pandemic life by webcasting several of them while New York's theaters remain closed. The latest one, Miles Malleson's Conflict, was taped during a live performance at the 99-seat Beckett Theatre in 2018. I saw it then and reviewed it with great enthusiasm in this space. Now that I've watched the show with earphones on my laptop-an experience directly comparable in intimacy to seeing it at the Beckett-I can confirm that my first impression was on the mark: Conflict is an outstanding play, and the Mint's production, directed by Jenn Thompson, was and is platinum-plated," said Terry Teachout in the Wall Street Journal on October 22nd, 2020.

Mint has been investing in creating professionally shot and edited full length archival videos since 2013. These videos are shot during live performances with three high-definition cameras, and edited to create a broadcast quality, intimate and enjoyable experience of Mint programming.

Conflict is a love story set against the backdrop of a hotly contested election, combining Miles Malleson's two passions: sex and politics. The result is a provocative romance that sizzles with both wit and ideas. It's the Roaring 20's, London. Lady Dare Bellingdon has everything she could want, yet she craves something more. Dare's man, Sir Major Ronald Clive, is standing for Parliament with the backing of Dare's father. Clive is a Conservative, of course, but he's liberal enough to be sleeping with Dare, who's daring enough to take Clive as a lover, but too restless to marry him. Clive's opponent, Tom Smith is passionate about social justice and understands the joy of having something to believe in. Dare is "the woman between" two candidates who both want to make a better world-until politics become personal, and mudslinging threatens to soil them all.

Mint was awarded an OBIE Award for "combining the excitement of discovery with the richness of tradition" and a special Drama Desk Award for "unearthing, presenting and preserving forgotten plays of merit."

To learn more about Mint's Streaming, go to minttheater.org. Mint's broadcast of Conflict will be available through November 8th. The price of admission is FREE. To receive a password, send an email to streaming@minttheater.org with Mint in the subject line.

For more information, including photos and videos of previous Mint productions, visit minttheater.org.

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