The Vanek Trilogy, a production of three one-act plays at Theatrum Elysium is currently previewing. The performances run from 31 Oct - Nov 18, 2012 at Theatrum Elysium's home in La Crescenta.

It's a joy working with LA's foremost teaching theatre, and directing these wonderful plays has been a thrill. Havel's mastery is in his mix of comic Absurdism and astute political observations as relevant today as when they were written.

One of the most exciting aspects of this production has been in our collaboration with The Wende Museum, a collections-based research and education institute of Cold War artifacts and history.

My first visit to the Wende Museum was in April 2012 to watch a staged reading of the first English language translation of conversations between Brecht collaborator, composer Hanns Eisler and journalist, Hans Bunge.

Following the readings we enjoyed a behind-the-scenes tour with Museum director, Justinian Jampol. One of the highlights of that tour was seeing an exhibit of Cold-War state surveillance equipment. 

Several months later I found myself directing The Vanek Trilogy, plays of a dissent writer who lived under the scrutinizing gaze of the communist government of 1970s Czechoslovakia. I knew at once that if we could bring some of those Wende artifacts to the Theatrum Elysium space, we could be able to connect them to the human world of our plays and add a dynamic layer of texture and meaning both to the Havel stories and the artifacts themselves. 

Thanks to everyone who made it along last Saturday to Samuel French in Hollywood. The book launch was a great success. Thanks also to Joyce at Samuel French for capturing me in full Shakespearean delivery!!!

This evening, I was honoured to be in the company of a group of people with warm hearts and we hope for the sake of the Yes on 34 campaign, deep pockets! 

We'll take it as a given that the "deep pockets" do not belong to us impecunious theatre types. None the less, I plan to do all I can to support Prop 34.  Thanks to Kim Manning-Cooper of Amnesty International UK for inviting me. We last saw each other some twenty-three years ago in the corridors of the college we shared. You must have a portrait in the attic Kim and if you drink enough and squint your eyes you'll see that I haven't aged a bit either!

Joking aside, I'm incredibly proud of Kim and all the work she is doing on behalf of Amnesty.

Tonight, the eloquence of the speakers drove home the importance of this issue, not just in terms that we are sadly familiar with: the miscarriages of justice, the position of other death penalty regimes around the world in relation to the stance of the U.S. but also in economic terms; a central theme of the campaign's thrust to abolish the penalty in a state that is currently broke beyond belief.

In other news (and since I spent so much time telling anyone who would listen) it really is time we had some mention of the Havel project on this website. 

I'm delighted that Theatrum Elysium have invited me to direct three one act plays by the great Czech writer Vaclav Havel this autumn. The Vanek Trilogy, springs from Havel's own experiences as a dissident writer living under the regime of the former Czechoslovakia. Central to these plays are the character's relationship with the material world and their moral world. As such, the make for astutely relevant pieces today and are as deeply psychological as they are political.

The plays will be performed at the company's new home in La Crescenta (and NOT, as I wrongly asserted this evening in Downtown LA). 

Theatrum Elysium is a fledgling company that started life in a 10, 000 sq. ft warehouse space in the heart of Downtown LA, before moving to their new home in La Cresenta. They are making a name for themselves with bold and imaginative productions that appeal to a counter culture of theatregoers in the Los Angeles area who are looking for a stirring and potent theatrical experience that will live as long in the memory as it will in the heart.

Watch this space for news and details of the production or click here for the Theatrum Elysium website.
 

I recently learned that September 1st will be the publication date of my forthcoming book on acting Shakespeare. A huge thanks to Nathan Spring, Head of Production at Smith and Kraus for his guidance, hard work and help. Here is a sneak peak of the book cover: