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Category: Parties and Nightlife
Chicken - Thursday 3rd to Sunday 27th April 2008
CHICKEN
Evening performances at 8pm
Theatro Technis
26 Crowndale Road, London NW11TT.
Telephone ticket reservations: +44 (0)20 7387 6617
Tickets: £15.00 (£10.00 concessions) - Tuedays, Pay what you can
Thursday 3rd - Sunday 27th April 2008
More information at:
http://www.innercityproductions.co.uk
ABOUT THIS PLAY:
Wendell’s wife Lina is pregnant. His wayward best friend Floyd
sleeps nightly on their couch. And as if things aren’t stressful
enough, he’s under constant pressure to "father" his messed-up
neighbours in the Bronx. In an effort to get some money together,
Wendell takes in a rooster to train for an illegal cockfight. As
they discover that training a bird for a death match in Washington
Heights is not for the feint of heart, this dysfunctional family
comes to blows before the fight ever takes place. In this devilish
comedy, playwright Mike Batistick investigates power, community and
loss, and searches for grace in the most unlikely places.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mike Batistick’s credits include Port Authority Throw Down (Culture
Project and the Working Theatre, Fall 2006), Ponies (Studio Dante,
Fall 2004), Flag (Hangar Theatre, Summer 2006) and Bodega Lung
Fat (Public Theatre’s 2003 New Work Now! Festival). He was a
two-year Juilliard Playwriting Fellow and is a graduate of Fordham
University in the Bronx. He is a member of MCC Playwrights’
Coalition, Ars Nova Play Group, the recipient of a 2007 NYSCA
grant, and is currently under commission from the Atlantic Theatre
Company.
REVIEWS FROM THE NEW YORK PREMIERE FOR THIS NEW PLAY:
"The men and women who populate contemporary relationship dramas
tend to belong to a specific demographic, and when they quarrel, do
so on pale sofas and sea grass rugs. Their minds may be cluttered
-- with unruly dissatisfaction, with upper-middle-class regret --
but their rooms have the air of 100 oxygen tanks. The set of
’’Chicken,’’ a new play by Mike Batistick at Michael Imperioli’s
Studio Dante, inflicts a certain stifling anxiety right away . . .
the set is a tiny, cramped apartment full of the mess of people who
must worry about money. Mr. Batistick renders his metaphors in the
thickest available chalk, but the story itself is as moving as the
jump over the class divide is rare." – New York Times
" ’Chicken’ follows the self-destructive Wendell as he tries to eat
himself to death and save his family from poverty and humiliation
at the same time. The trouble with Wendell’s mission is that he
has, in his own words, "a big, weird family." For example, Floyd
isn’t Wendell’s brother, but he might as well be, given the way the
two men fight, and the sacrifices Wendell is willing to make for
him. Wendell doesn’t owe Floyd’s estranged wife anything, but he’s
willing to give her money behind Floyd’s back to help take care of
their kids. He’s selfless, but in the world of Batistick’s play,
that’s a death sentence . . . Floyd is a simpler animal: He takes
what he wants, whether it’s a place on Wendell’s couch or a night
in his bed. Though he’s unemployed and lazy, he still tries to
defend his friend - a holdover from their shared childhood in an
orphanage. Floyd will always survive, but he hates his
self-interest so much that his protective, manipulative
relationship with Wendell seems like both penance and sin . . .
"Though he puts them in a cramped, cluttered apartment in the Bronx,
Batistick’s odd working-class Catholics are exploring new
territory."
– Newsday
"There’s a gritty, street-smart humor in Mike Batistick’s play
about three neighborhood pals—and one unhappy spouse—who end
up grooming a sickly rooster for an illegal cockfight in the Bronx.
The good-hearted Wendell and his pregnant wife are sharing their
cluttered living room with Floyd, a small-time bully without a
conscience. With the rooster joining the party, the place gets
truly overcrowded, and aggressions are unleashed."
– New Yorker
"New York life is at the heart of the saucy but tender comedy
wrapped around the fighting rooster. The bird wins money for a
financially strapped family while its handlers try to patch up
emotionally and sexually tattered lives." – Associated Press
"It’s the sort of play that makes you want to go home and take a
long, hot shower." – New York Post
ABOUT THE LONDON PRODUCTION:
by Sam Neophytou - Director/Producer
"As a British-born Cypriot, I started out as an actor working
mainly in fringe theatre and gradually moved into television.
However, I found that the only parts I was called upon to audition
for were those of archetypal ’foreigners’ living outside the UK. I
found that as an actor who’d spent all his life in London many of
the roles were therefore distinctly ’foreign’ to me.
"The next ten years led me to directing mainly plays by foreign
writers like Brecht, Lorca, Dario Fo and Arthur Miller to name but
a few. I also turned my hand to writing some plays and also
film-scripts and thus found that my background and cultural
diversity finally had a voice.
"Too much theatre, as well as television remains in ’safe-bet’
hands rehashing proven formats seeking guaranteed commercial
success. Representation of ethnic minorities continues to be
hackneyed and unrealistic, watered down to be made more palatable
for the perceived mass audience. Consequently we rarely get a
glimpse into the reality of the co-existing worlds in today’s
modern multi-cultural society and particularly those in our cities
where this rainbow culture is concentrated.
"These worlds offer exciting, colourful and endless storylines that
are ultimately fresh and inspiring, and it is these experiences
which have led to the creation of an association with other
like-minded creatives drawn from the multicultural melting pot of
London - to create ’Inner City Productions’ ".
"Our current production, drawing from the equally mixed-culture and
bubbly energy of New York City which experiences many similar
situations to those we experience in London brings you ....
’CHICKEN’ ."
http://www.innercityproductions.co.uk
Past productions include:
http://www.bubbleproductions.co.uk
THE LONDON VENUE:
Having recently celebrated it’s 50th Anniversary, Theatro Technis
in fashionable Camden Town is one of London’s leading fringe
theatre venues, presenting innovative theatrical productions by
world theatre groups as well as by local artists. During February
it hosted a production of ’Elizaveta Bam’ (which has a group of its
own here at FaceBook) within the context of the Russian Festival
2008 in London.
As part of the celebration of its own 50th Anniversary the venue is
making selected material from performances which it hosts available
to a world audience through the modern multimedia possibilities of
the internet, so you may wish to take a look at video of this gem
of the Russian avante-garde, ’Elizaveta Bam’ production (kindly
released onto the www with the permission of its producers and
actors) from February 2008, visible at:
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-3008653255098603327&q
=elizaveta+bam&total=3&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0
Theatro Technis is launching a fund-raising campaign in order to
improve the facilities available at the venue, through the
redevelopment of its ’foyer’. Contributions to this campaign can be
made via its own website.
http://www.theatrotechnis.com
6:48 PM
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