Embassy of the Czech Republic
When:
September 28 & 29, 2016
7:00 pm

THEATRICAL PERFORMANCES:

In commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of the Birth of Václav Havel, the Alliance for New Music-Theatre, in collaboration with the Embassy of the Czech Republic presents Protest, a play by Václav Havel and directed by Susan Galbraith, with actors Drew Valins and David Millstone.

Vaněk pays a visit to the lavish home of former colleague Staněk, who has invited the renowned activist to help him secure the release of a jailed radical musician, fiancé to his daughter. Vaněk also seeks a favor: the influential man's signature in a far-reaching protest. The play exposes life under a totalitarian regime and the thin line between acquiescence and culpability.   

The performance is designed to acknowledge the courage and the comaraderie that conjoined in the original stagings, called “apartment performances.” Havel and other publically banned artists found this radical   solution as a way to share their works with their audiences as private living room performances.  The performances were known for their intimacy, their sly in-jokes about notable Czech artists (including Havel himself taking on the role of Vaněk,) and their tongue-in-cheek pokes at the communist-controlled country. Havel’s “Vaněk” became a kind of alter-ego or at least a much-beloved symbol of a counter-culture that later would bring about a bloodless “Velvet” Revolution. Many other playwrights, including Pavel Kohout and Tom Stoppard, modeled plays on the Vaněk character.

Special Private Performance at the Czech Ambassador’s Residence

2016 PUBLIC PERFORMANCES

Sept. 28, 2016 7:00 pm    WOODROW WILSON HOUSE | Tickets: $20, available at:
                                       www.woodrowwilsonhouse.org/events or 202/792-5807        
                                       2340 S Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008    

Sept. 29, 2016 7:00 pm    CZECH CENTER IN NY | Admission free, RSVP is not required.
                                       321 E 73rd St., New York, NY 10021





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