SCENA THEATRE OPENS ITS 2011-2012 SEASON WITH GREEK, STEVEN BERKOFF'S BAWDY BRITISH TWIST ON OEDIPUS REX
Washington, DC — September 27, 2011 — The Directors of SCENA Theatre announce the first production of their 24th season, GREEK by British playwright Steven Berkoff. In 1998, SCENA produced the DC-area premiere of this acclaimed adaptation of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. This revival will also be directed by Robert McNamara, and will be held at H Street Playhouse, featuring a new cast of DC favorites.
$10 previews for GREEK will take place on October 15, 16, 18 and 19 (all which start at 8 pm, except for the Sunday 10/16 preview, which starts at 3 pm). Opening night is Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 8 pm (also Press Night). Members of the press should RSVP to ScenaMedia@gmail.com to attend press night (or an alternate performance if there is a conflict).
Set in modern-day London, this twisted version of the well-known myth combines Shakespearean grandeur and Cockney rhyming slang to riotous effect. GREEK is a modern rags-to-riches story, filled with sarcasm and scatological humor as only the “Bad Boy of British Theatre” can serve up. Join "Eddy" as he voyages beyond the confines of his home in London's East End to his date with destiny. Along the way he encounters love, wealth, and his true identity.
Berkoff first conceived of GREEK in 1979, claiming it came to him “via Sophocles, trickling its way down the millennia until it reached the unimaginable wastelands of Tufnell Park.” He drew from Oedipus for the central plot, borrowed from his own experiences growing up in East London for the details, and made a political statement about Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister as he does in many of his other plays.
Artistic Director Robert McNamara says of his decision to revive the play, "The recent fall of the economy in Greece and the riots in London make GREEK as relevant as ever....[it] is something that needed to be onstage then and that must be seen now." Further, after last year's success of Berkoff's Sink the Belgrano! and of his adaptation of The Fall of the House of Usher in 2009, audiences seem poised for more Berkoff and for this "love poem to the spirit of Oedipus."
OPENING: Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 8 pm (Press Night)
Official Run: October 20 – November 27: Thurs – Sat (8 pm) and Sun (3 pm)
No performance on Thanksgiving, Nov. 24
Extra show on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 3 pm
Location: H STREET PLAYHOUSE
1365 H Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
Press: Email: ScenaMedia@gmail.com
Phone: 571.216.5136, or
Click: on Press link (at left) for Photos
Price: $27 - $40
Tickets: Click on Tickets link at left or
Reserve by Phone 703-683-2824.
Parking: Valet Parking is available at 1353 H Street NE (at the Rock & Roll Hotel – a few doors down from the Playhouse). If driving, side-street parking is suggested (Maryland Ave, 10th–12th Streets, etc.). Also, the X2 Metrobus runs down H Street. Visit www.wmata.com for schedules.
Deals: “Nonprofit Nights” – $20 tickets for all staff at nonprofits & associations (except special event, TBA). Please present business card for discount.
“Student Specials” – $16 tickets for all Students (except special event, TBA). Please show student IDs for discount.
“30 & under Thursdays” – $20 tickets for all patrons 30 and under. Please present ID.
Steven Berkoff was born in 1937 in Stepney, London. His family background was Jewish Russian, and his grandparents fled Russia for Britain in the 1890s. In 1968, Berkoff formed the London Theatre Group and started his career with adaptations of Kafka and Poe (Metamorphosis, The Trial, and The Fall of the House of Usher). East was his first original play, and it established him as a major talent. He is now performed over the world, and at the yearly Edinburgh Fringe Festival Berkoff is the most performed playwright after Shakespeare. He also has had major acting roles in “Rambo," “Beverly Hills Cop,” “Octopussy,” “Barry Lyndon,” and “A Clockwork Orange.” He currently lives in Limehouse, London in an apartment on the Thames and claims he is now in semi-retirement.
Cast: GREEK features accomplished Washington area actors such as Helen Hayes Awards® winner Nanna Ingvarsson, Eric Lucas, David Bryan Jackson, and Danielle Davy.
Designers: Michael C. Stepowany (Set), Alisa Mandel (Costumes), Marianne Meadows (Lights), and James Garver (Sound).
SCENA Theatre brings the best in international theatre to Washington, DC and stimulates cultural exchange between theatre artists, locally and worldwide. Founded in 1987 under the leadership of Artistic Director Robert McNamara and Managing Director Amy Schmidt, SCENA produces an annual season of plays, seasonally staged readings, as well as a Workshop Series aimed at developing new works from around the globe. To learn more about our mission or past stage productions, please visit www.scenatheater.org.