Dirty Laundry Theatre To Adapt BORDERS To Unique Virtual Experience

Dirty Laundry Theatre, an emerging New York City-based theatre production company announced its unprecedented production of BORDERS, written by Nimrod Danishman and directed by Michael R. Piazza, to be broadcast in real time via livestream.

This Saturday, a one of its kind, streaming adapted version of the play will be performed live by the actors in their homes (without breaking quarantine). The original production was awarded the best play nomination at the NY summer festival and scheduled for a run this summer. In the light of covid-19 realities, it has been transformed to an online storytelling experience, complete with all-new multimedia and video elements that bring this virtual dimension to life.

BORDERS delves deep into the private gay dating app conversations between two Middle-Eastern men who struggle with bringing their virtual relationship offline and into the real world. An intriguing and timely drama about what it means to connect with another human in a highly politicized and hyper-virtual world, BORDERS boldly examines the relationship between virtual space and physical life. The two-hander features Adrian Rifat and Eli M. Schoenfeld.

"This isn't just another livestream of the play on stage", says Maera Daniel Hagage, Dirty Laundry Theatre's Founding Artistic Director. "This type of online play is unprecedented, and we are very excited about its launch this Saturday. The uniqueness of the story set in the virtual world, with the characters' inability to meet physically, is more relatable today than ever."

"I didn't want to do it this way unless it could be cool," says director Michael R. Piazza. "We really had to learn a New Medium, both on a technical level and in terms of storytelling. Each actor had to learn to function as a cameraman, and as a lighting and scenic designer- all while acting in their own separate apartments in Manhattan. My assistant and I are running the show's sound and its new video elements from my little laptop out in Brooklyn. Our producer and stage manager are monitoring the stream and communicating with us over the phone. It's been a fun challenge and I think the final product is going to pass my test - it will be cool. We all love Nimrod's play and these characters so much, and luckily the story really works when being told this way as well. It's a beautifully written, truly modern love story for the online era, and now we are telling the story completely online."

BORDERS asks what is it that divides or connects two people who meet online? The virtual fantasy, the distance, the foreignness, the border? This beautiful production unfolds the virtual encounter of Boaz and George, who meet on Grindr.They want to meet in person, but one lives in Israel, the other- in Lebanon.

Find out if it is just the physical border that keeps Boaz and George apart?

Would they be able to transition their virtual relationship to the real world?

The play is based on actual across-the-border Grindr conversations that the Israeli playwright had with an individual in Lebanon. While homosexuality isn't technically outlawed in Lebanon, the social implications can still be harsh. In Israel, while homosexuality is more socially acceptable, it isn't a universal acceptance- for one thing, same-sex marriage is still illegal. Both characters are forced to really look for 'workarounds' to be able to live their true selves.

Dirty laundry" is something that everyone has, across all cultures, races and continents, from the moment we are born, through our lives. This story represents one such topic that many might find personally relatable as well as global", adds Hagage. "As a member of our online audience, we invite you to one such relatable experience."

BORDERS was originally produced in Israel, and made its international premiere as a Dirty Laundry Theatre production at the NY Theatre festival in summer 2019, where it was nominated for Best Play of 2019. It debuted at The Stonewall Inn in February of 2020. The Israeli production of BORDERS, directed by the playwright Nimrod Danishman, was shortlisted for the Very Best Fringe Theatre and the Best Playwright Golden Hedgehog Fringe Theatre Awards in Israel, 2019.

The show run will include total of 8 performance following this upcoming Saturday. Final schedule will be updated on the website. 

First live-streaming of BORDERS will be performed on Saturday, April 18th, at 9pm ET.

For link to the Saturday show as well as details of additional performances: https://www.dirtylaundrytheatre.org/show/borders/

To support visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/dirty-laundry-theatre