Photo Flash: I WANT A COUNTRY Comes to FringeNYC

I Want a Country written by Greek Playwright Andreas Flourakis and translated by Eleni Drivas, opened at The New York International Fringe Festival last weekend. The final performance is scheduled for Saturday, October 27 @ 4:15 pm.

The production is directed by Lyto Triantafyllidou and produced by HDGP Productions and The Greek Cultural Center with Eleni Drivas serving as lead producer.

Written in 2013 in an unconventional chorus inspired structure, I Want a Country advocates for social change when a group of disillusioned individuals embark on a search for a "new" and "improved" country. But is this a search for a new country or a game of rhetoric? Can they create a ¨perfect" country? Can a society reinvent itself? Or will the ideal country remain a utopia?

I Want A Country, is a theater performance where the characters 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?

The diverse cast of eight features Jessy Donn (Sophomore NYU Gallatin), Joy Donze (13 and Not Pregnant - Winner Best Comedy/United Solo 2017), Sarah Folkins (Cosi Fan Tutte/The Metropolitan Opera), Alexandra Gellner (Julius Caesar/The Brick), Lamin Leroy Gibba (Dust to Dust/FringeNYC 2016), Kevin Gonzalez (Your Ad Here/Web Series), Olivia Konteatis (Fun Home/NYU Tisch), and Simon Winheld (Pete Rex/59E59).

In keeping with the festival spirit, this year, all audience members will meet at The FringeHUB - Orange Flag, 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. Audience members are encouraged to arrive at The FringeHUB 15 minutes before the performance.

Tickets are $22 and are available at https://bit.ly/1jeNx8n. Running time: 60 minutes.

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 atAthens 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.

Photos by Matt Weber.