Kennedy Center to Host World Stages Series 2015-16

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts presents World Stages in the 2015-2016 season. With a long history of presenting original global works, the Kennedy Center's International Programming brings leading companies and artists from the U.S. and abroad to present six cutting-edge works of theater, music, dance, and more as part of this season's World Stages.

The 2015-2016 World Stages series brings Seuls, written, directed, and performed by Wajdi Mouawad from Lebanon and Canada from September 18 - 19, 2015; Wagner, Max! Wagner! conceived and composed by Stew, Heidi Rodewald, and The Wagner Problem from the United States from September 25 - 26, 2015; Sancho: An Act of Remembrance, a witty and moving one-man play conceived, written, and performed by British actor Paterson Joseph, co-directed by Simon Godwin, and produced by Tim Smith for Pemberley Productions in association with the Oxford Playhouse (UK) from October 23 - 24, 2015; The Language of the Future conceived, created, and performed by Laurie Anderson from March 4 - 6, 2016; Happy Hour, a new dance work choreographed by Monica Bill Barnes and performed by Monica Bill Barnes and Anna Bass from March 10 - 11, 2016; and The Odyssey: from Vietnam to America conceived and composed by Vân-Ánh Võ from March 11 - 12, 2016.

The 2015-2016 Kennedy Center World Stages Season

Seuls

Written, directed, and performed by Wajdi Mouawad (Lebanon /Canada)

Eisenhower Theater

United States Premiere

September 18 - 19, 2015

Born in Lebanon in 1968, Wajdi Mouawad later moved to Paris and then Montreal by the age of nine. In his semi-autobiographical reflection, he presents a man who moved to a new country as a child from his home to escape civil war. He loses himself in a new context and language; compromising his self-knowledge and capacity for happiness by his childhood emigration.

One of the most widely produced playwrights in Canada and France, Wajdi Mouawad's works include Littoral, Incendies, Forêts, and Ciels, among others. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and has won numerous awards for his works, including the Governor General's Award, the Quebec Critic's Circle Award, the Nestroy Award, and Le Masque. His play Incendies was adapted into an Academy Award nominated film for Best Foreign Language Film by Denis Villeneuve. He was previously the artistic director of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and the Théâtre de Quat'Sous in Montreal, and he helped create the companies Abé Carré Cé Carré in Quebec and Au Carré de l'Hypoténuse in France. Seuls has been performed in Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Lebanon, Russia, and South America. Performed in French with projected English titles. Recommended for age 15 and up.

Wagner, Max! Wagner!

Stew and The Wagner Problem (United States)

Terrace Theater

World Premiere

September 25 - 26, 2015
The Kennedy Center presents a new co-commissioned song cycle created by Tony and Obie Award winners Stew and Heidi Rodewald (Passing Strange). Passing Strange is a Tony nominated Broadway production made into a film by Spike Lee. The new work explores the connections between the music-myths of both Wagner and the blues, with the use of song, poetry, text by Berlin author Freya Stewart, and video. Audiences will recognize Wagner's best-known melodies within the acclaimed creators' eclectic mix of rock and cabaret music. Recommended for age 15 and up. Commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with the support of the Goethe-Institut Washington DC.

Sancho: An Act of Remembrance

Oxford Playhouse (United Kingdom)

Terrace Theater

October 23 - 24, 2015

The production is conceived, written and performed by celebrated British actor Paterson Joseph and is co-directed by Simon Godwin. Paterson, a versatile actor on stage and television, appears on many London stages including the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre UK. He is also a BBC regular in the cast of Law & Order UK playing Detective Inspector Layton as well as in the sitcom Peep Show portraying loan manager Alan Johnson.

The play tells the story of Charles Ignatius Sancho who was born on a slave ship in 1729, later becoming a fellow actor and friend of David Garrick and the first black person of African origin to vote in Britain. The life of Charles Ignatius Sancho was full of surprising, moving, and funny twists. On the day Thomas Gainsborough paints his famous portrait, we are given an insight into the forgotten but true story of an African man who dared to act, write, sing, dance, and voice his political opinion with wit and charm in Great Britain. Recommended for age 15 and up.

The Language of the Future

Laurie Anderson (United States)

Terrace Theater

March 4 - 6, 2016
As the latest chapter in Laurie Anderson's ongoing exploration of the American narrative and how it is told, this collection of songs and stories about contemporary culture crosses borders between dreams, reality, and the elusive world of information. Known for her music, multimedia presentations, and innovative use of technology, Anderson spins offbeat adventure stories with her characteristic wit and poignancy. Recommended for age 12 and up.

Happy Hour

Monica Bill Barnes & Anna Bass (United States)

Terrace Gallery

March 10 - 11, 2016

Within the new dance work Happy Hour, Monica Bill Barnes and Anna Bass trade their signature sequins and feather headdresses for a pair of everyday men's suits. Framed by the casual aesthetics of cocktail parties and the inherent failure of karaoke nights, they portray two female performers desperate to wrest new meaning from the most familiar male characters in this first-ever cocktail party dance show. Happy Hour invites audiences to have a drink, laugh at our collective failures, and fall in love with our own shortcomings.
Choreographer and performer Monica Bill Barnes founded MBB&CO in 1997 with the mission to celebrate individuality, humor, and the innate theatricality of everyday life. She is joined by a core of long-time collaborators: Associate Artistic Director and performing partner Anna Bass, Lighting Designer Jane Cox, Set and Costume Designer Kelly Hanson, and Creative Producer Robert Saenz de Viteri.

The Odyssey: from Vietnam to America

Vân-Ánh Võ (Vietnam/United States)

Terrace Theater

East Coast Premiere

March 11 - 12, 2016

Marking the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, this work explores the personal and spiritual journeys of the Boat People escaping war and abandoning their lives in the search for freedom with an alien and unknowable future. To tell this universal story, acclaimed composer-performer Vân-Ánh Võ and guest artists utilize new music for Vietnamese and Western instruments, ambient sound, spoken word, historical objects, and live media.

Vân-Ánh Võ is an award-winning musician and composer, known for her mastery of the "dan tranh zither," a unique Vietnamese instrument. She has performed in over 14 countries at such venues as Carnegie Hall, Zellerbach Hall, Lincoln Center, and here at the Kennedy Center. Among her accomplishments are the 2009 Emmy Award winning soundtrack for the documentary Bolinao 52; the soundtrack for the Sundance Best Documentary and 2003 Academy Award nominee Daughter from Danang; the soundtrack for the documentary A Village Called Versailles; and her own recordings Twelve Months, Four Seasons, She's Not She, and Three-Mountain Pass. Performed in Vietnamese and English. Recommended for age 15 and up.

Artists and performances are subject to change.

Ticket Information

To receive subscription information by mail, call the Subscription Office at (202) 416-8500. Subscriptions may be purchased in advance of general on sale dates. Groups of 20 or more may contact Kennedy Center Group Sales at (202) 416-8400. Dates for sales of individual tickets will be announced at a later date.

funding credits

Major support for the presentation of Seuls is provided by A. Huda and Samia Farouki with additional support provided by The Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater.

Wagner, Max! Wagner! is commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with the support of the Goethe-Institut Washington DC.

MyTix, part of the Rubenstein Arts Access Program, is generously funded by

David and Alice Rubenstein.

International Programming at the Kennedy Center is made possible through the generosity of the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts.

Patrons 18-30 years old and active-duty members of the military are invited to join theb Kennedy Center's MyTix program for special discount offers and chances to win free tickets. For more information, visit www.kennedy-center.org/mytix.

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