A harrowing tale of humanity and art in the face of totalitarian oppression, William T. Vollmann's award-winning 2005 novel forms the basis for Europe Central, a play that will force the audience to reevaluate what may seem familiar.
Beginning tonight, the progressive stage of Durham's Manbites Dog Theater will host the world premier of Europe Central. Breaking old conventions and stock full of innovation, the play features such historical figures as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin leading the warring forces of fascism and communism. Meanwhile, artists Anna Akhmatova and Dmitri Shostakovich, among others, desperately try to save themselves and their art from being silenced forever.
The setting of this tale is two-sided, and the stage itself reflects it. The left half of the stage is exclusively Russian, visually highlighted by Soviet propaganda with barbwire fence dividing the stage. The Germans' story unfolds in an expressionistic backdrop.
"The novel pops back and forth between German fictions and Russian fictions," said Jay O'Berski, associate artistic director of Manbites, director of Europe Central and a Duke University lecturing fellow. "So we actually hired two playwrights, one to handle the German side and one to handle the Russian side."
Audience members will have their pick of which side of the stage to watch at anytime during the two-hour show, as both sides have continuous activity.
"The characters for the large part stay on their side, but everybody is on stage the whole time," O'Berski said. "The lights direct the people all over, but there are often times when many things are happening at once."
The simultaneous activity in these two separate worlds is reminiscent of the chaos of the times in which the story is told. The division of the stage, while remarkable, probably will not be what captures the audience's attention the most.
Instead, it is the cast itself that is so enticing. For instance, the actor Lamont Reed takes on the role of Adolf Hitler. Reed is charismatic, expressive and loud-, all things one would expect of an actor in this particular role, but there is one thing that might be unexpected to those who don't know Manbites Dog Theater and Jay O'Berski-Reed is black, as are other members of the twelve-character cast. "We have a young black woman playing the Soviet hero, Zoya. This is something our company is committed to, color-blind casting," O'Berski said. "We really chose the best actors for the job."
In addition to the divided stage and diverse cast, there are other convention-breaking delights in this play to be explored and enjoyed. From the music to the presentation of authentic-seeming film documentaries on stage, O'Berski takes theater presentation back to an earlier time.
"It goes back to the [theater of the] '30's and '40's, to total theater. Dance, music and song, puppets, they would utilize them all to tell a story," O'Berski said.
O'Berski's brand of total theater will mean total encapsulation of the audience. The presentation will be enthralling and the story engrossing. For anyone who derides the path of the artist, or takes art for granted, this play will serve as a live-action reminder of the importance of art in describing what O'Berski calls "the human condition" in the times when all rationality and order in the world has failed.
That said, Europe Central is not meant to be didactic.
"I want to make people think about it and draw their own conclusions," O'Berski said, "Not just have a rote judgment."
Europe Central will be performed at the Manbites Dog Theater on Foster Street in Durham from Jan. 17-19, Jan. 23-27 and Jan. 30-Feb. 2. All shows will be at 8:15 p.m. except the 3:15 p.m. showing Sunday Jan. 27. Tickets are $17 for weekend shows and $12 for weekday showings.
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