PRESS CONTACT: Brian Dean
t: 703-217-9007 | e: ScenaMedia@gmail.com
Scena presents the US Premiere of "Strong Wind", a new play by Europe's most performed living writer, Jon Fosse. RSVP now for Opening Night on Nov. 3rd.
Washington, DC, September 14, 2023 — The Directors of Scena Theatre continue their 35th Season in Washington with the US Premiere of Jon Fosse's new surreal drama, Strong Wind. This play will be staged at the DC Arts Center in Adams Morgan from November 2 – 26. Today, Fosse has the distinction of being Europe's most performed living writer, plus he was the distinguished winner of the Ibsen Award in 2010.
Press Night: Friday, November 3, 2023, 7:30 pm at DC Arts Center in Adams Morgan at 2438 18th St. NW Washington, DC, 20009. Please RSVP now to ScenaMedia@gmail.com to reserve your Press Member seat, or request an alternate performance, if needed.
Strong Wind is a haunting and surreal play. This tragicomic one-act play centers on a MAN, who has been away a long time returns. He peers out the window of the flat he shares with his wife. But is this still his home? Is this existence still his life? Or does he merely belong to the past—a spectator of his own abyss? And, did a different, younger man take his place? Strong Wind tells the tale of a man's attempt to return to life where nothing is certain. Playwright Jon Fosse returns to the stage after a long hiatus of his own with a surreal play that he describes as "a haunted man’s scenic poem".
Scena Theatre’s Artistic Director, Robert McNamara, is excited about producing another play by Fosse. “Jon is a writer that is not widely known in the US. But he is a major voice of surrealism in the theatre world. Now, audiences in Washington will get to see why Fosse was the recipient of the International Ibsen Award.” Scena has produced two other plays by Jon Fosse. In October, 2019, Scena presented the US premiere of Fosse's surreal play about shipwrecked survivors, SEA, at the DC Arts Center. Also, in 2017, we produced the drama about a paranoid couple, Someone is Going to Come.
Scena has a rich history of staging world, US and regional premiers of bold plays by renowned and up-and-coming writers. In the past 15 years alone, Scena has staged 10 such premieres. In 2018, we presented the world premiere of GUILT at the ATLAS by John Shand from Australia. In 2015, we staged the regional premiere of The Norwegians by C. Denny Swanson. In 2014, Scena presented the DC-area premiere of Handbag by Mark Ravenhill of England. In 2013, we staged the regional premiere of The Marriage of Maria Braun by Rainer Werner Fassbinder of Germany. In 2012, Scena produced the East Coast premiere of Mein Kampf by George Tabori of Hungary. In 2011, we staged the regional premiere of Purge by Sofi Oksanen of Finland at the old H Street Playhouse. In 2010, we staged the DC-area premiere of Sink the Belgrano! by Steven Berkoff.
PRESS NIGHT / OPENING: Friday, November 3 at 7:30 pm
PREVIEW: Thursday, November 2 at 7:30 pm ($15)
PERFORMANCES: November 3 – 26, 2023 (Wed–Sat. 7:30 pm | Sun. 2:30 pm)
Tickets: EventBrite.com
Price: $45
Venue: DC Arts Center Adams Morgan, 2438 18th St. NW Washington, DC, 20009
Industry Night / Special Show: Monday November 20, 7:30 pm
Press: ScenaMedia@gmail.com | Phone: 703-217-9007
Photos: ScenaTheatre.org (Click on Press, Left Sidebar — Available Nov. 2)
CAST:
MAN: Stas Wronka (AEA)
WOMAN: Sissel Bakken
YOUNG MAN: Robert Sheire
Designers
Director: Robert McNamara, Scenic & Lighting Designers: Michael C. Stepowany & Carl Gudenius, Music Composers: Roger Doyle & Andrew Bellware, Costume Designers: Carolan Corcoran & Mei Chen, Sound Designer: Andrew Bellware, Movement Coaches: Kim Curtis & Paul Gallagher, Fight Direction: Paul Gallagher, Assistant Director: Anne Nottage, Production Assistant: Cate Brewer, Stage Manager: Laura Schlachtmeyer, Production Associate: Cate Brewer
Jon Fosse (b. 1959) is widely considered one of the most important writers of our time. Currently, he is the most performed living writer in Europe. Fosse has been awarded numerous prizes both in Norway and abroad. He was recently awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature for his life’s work, and he was the distinguished winner of the coveted Ibsen Award in 2010. Born in Strandebarm, western Norway, he lives in The Grotto in Oslo, in Hainburg, Austria, as well as in Frekhaug, Vestland. Fosse’s prolific career began in 1983 with his first novel Red, Black, and since then he has published numerous novels, stories, books of poetry, children’s books, and essay collections. His first play in 1993 was Someone Is Going to Come. Since then, he has written nearly 30 plays, including A Summer’s Day, Dream of Autumn, Death Variations, Sleep, and I Am the Wind. Since the mid-90s, his plays have had unparalleled success, having been performed more than 1,000 times, globally. In 2015, he received the Nordic Council Literature Prize for his work Trilogy, consisting of Wakefulness, Olav’s Dreams, and Weariness. His earlier novels Melancholy I and II, Morning and Evening, and Aliss at the Fire also received critical acclaim. After a several-year hiatus, today Fosse continues to write novels, stories, and poetry of great quality.
SCENA Theatre brings the best 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 Click on the “About” link on the left menu.
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