La MaMa to Present 2b theatre company's WHEN IT RAINS, 1/10-20

2b theatre company -- the Halifax, Nova Scotia based troupe recognized as one of Canada's top touring companies -- returns to New York City for the U.S. Premiere of its production WHEN IT RAINS, with a preview performance on January 10 prior to an official opening January 11 at La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theatre (66 E. 4 St.) in Manhattan.

WHEN IT RAINS is written and directed by Anthony Black, who last appeared in New York with his work INVISIBLE ATOM at the 2010 Under the Radar Festival. Scheduled through January 20, WHEN IT RAINS performs Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. (with an added performance on January 16 at 7:30 p.m.) Tickets are $25/students, $20/students-seniors and can be purchased by calling the La MaMa box office at 212 475 7710.

WHEN IT RAINS is Anthony Black's play in the form of a live-action existential graphic novel and begins with the question, "Were the Biblical Job an atheist and beset with successive misfortunes, would anything be tested in him?" The play, however, isn't uniquely or explicitly an adaptation of the Job myth, but branches out to examine happiness and unhappiness. It asks to what extent we are the authors of our own misfortune. What role does randomness play and do we even truly understand and control our own behaviour?

The production is an experiment in theatrical storytelling, with deliberately chosen constraints. A computer projector is used as the only source of light, along with a few chairs and a few props. The actors, framed against a black wall interact with projected environments. Nick Bottomley's projection design creates a visually striking, dynamic, and theatre-in-low-relief aesthetic.

Darkly funny, heartbreaking, and visually arresting, WHEN IT RAINS premiered in Halifax in April 2011 and toured to the SummerWorks Festival in Toronto in August 2012 where it won the SummerWorks design award.

WHEN IT RAINS is the latest creation by writer/ director Anthony Black, who last visited New York with his production Invisible Atom at The Public Theater (Under the Radar 2010). The cast consists of Anthony Black, Francine Deschepper, Samantha Wilson, and Marc Bendavid. Sound design and dramaturgy by Christian Barry, costume design by Leesa Hamilton.

www.2btheatre.com or www.lamama.org

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