The cast and crew (minus Judith Malina) from the Living Theatre’s production, “Here We Are,” on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. It was the last performance that will be held at 21 Clinton Street and the end of a 60-plus year career for Ms. Malina.
We stopped in for a fun, yet bittersweet, event — full of tributes, performances and an “end of the road” party with the Living Theatre last night. John Clancy (founder of The Present Company that created the NY International Fringe Festival) read from his one man show. Penny Arcade performed. There was a special screening of Love and Politics, the documentary about co-founder/living legend Judith Malina. And then we were treated to a special midnight encore performance of “Here We Are,” the group’s last show on Clinton Street and Ms. Malina’s last show before going in to retirement.
86 year old Judith Malina and the Living Theatre will be moving out of their home on Clinton Street next month, but not before putting on one last show for us. Their latest production, Here We Are opens tonight and will run through February. It promises to stay true to the spirit of non-violent, anarchist/experimental theater they have been producing for over sixty years.
In the show, the international (and multi-generational) company “visits the Anarchist collectives of France, Spain and The Ukraine for the 19th and 20th centuries, and finds (them)selves transported to an immersive and participatory underground outdoor/indoor crossroads of our present moment. The ensemble and the audience work together to manufacture and perform the potential creative possibilities for a post revolutionary world of beauty and non violence.”
The Living Theatre and Italy’s MOTUS will present The Plot is the Revolution, starring living legend Judith Malina (still going strong at an amazing 86 years old) and Italian actress Silvia Calderoni, this weekend. The show was presented to a sold out crowd at La Mama as part of Under The Radar Festival 2012, this past summer. Malina and Calderoni, directed by Enrico Casagrande and Daniele Nicolòcreate, create an encounter between two women representing two versions of Antigone — separated by generations, but united in the belief that theater can incite political transformation. In staying true to the Living Theatre’s consistent agenda, the story involves a journey through history and theater, as the two form a “political commitment to become participants in a search for the beautiful, non-violent anarchist revolution.”
The Plot is the Revolution runs October 25-27 at 8pm at The Living Theatre (21 Clinton Street). Tickets are $20; $15, students and seniors,
A still from the documentary "Love and Politics" with Judith Malina. Directed by Azad Jafarian. The film will debut at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 29th.
Since its inception as a pioneer in avant-garde theater and experimentation, way back in 1947, The Living Theatre‘s work has revolved around messages of injustice, peaceful anarchy, struggle and revolution. A new film, “Love and Politics,” about co-founder Judith Malina and the company, will debut at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 29th. The film offers a slice of 85-year old Malina’s contemporary life, and documents some of the recent struggles in the company’s current home at 21 Clinton Street.
We recently sat down with the Living Theatre’s executive producer, Brad Burgess, to discuss the company’s current state of affairs. Burgess was a 23 year old actor in the company who stepped in to assist Malina after the death of her partner, Hanon Reznikov, in 2008. The company had just returned from almost thirty years abroad, touring internationally and around the U.S., without a permanent home. They found the space on Clinton Street in 2005, renovated it and opened with much fanfare in 2007. Continue reading Legendary “Living Theatre” on the Brink; Can it Survive?
Continuing our Lower East Side New Year’s Eve roundup, here’s an intriguing way to ring in 2012: The historic, avant-garde theater company The Living Theatre will be debuting their production, The History of the World, written by the living legend, artist and activist Judith Malina. The play is the culmination of a collaboration the theatre company has been working on with Snowy Wilderness (of the arts/fashion collaborative in downtown Brooklyn and member of the Occupy Brooklyn Movement) who will be “curating” the evening. The party will include a pre-release event for Defrag, an international ipad magazine on culture.
The Living Theatre is presenting a rare revival of one of their most significant pieces, Seven Meditations On Political Sado-Masochism, which has not been performed since it’s debut in 1973. Seven Meditations was written after co-founder Judith Malina and members of the company were imprisoned–and some tortured–by the Médici dictatorship in Brazil in that same year. Described as “a visceral examination of the social contract between the governed and the government,” the play explores Sacher-Masoch’s Six Houses of Bondage: Love, Money, Property, State, War and Death, with a seventh meditation on Revolutionary Change. Associate Director Brad Burgess tells us the show has been updated to address the political prisoners and victims of the current revolutions. The show is being presented by the Culture Project’s Women Center Stage which is at The Living Theatre all month. Directed by living legend, Judith Malina. The show contains nudity and a simulated torture scene. Every Tues. and Wed. at 10:30pm during March // Pay What You Can at the door // 21 Clinton Street.
The Living Theatre is honoring the spirit of the Egyptian Revolution by live-streaming their final performances of KORACH – a play about “the first recorded anarchist in history.” The piece was written and directed by living legend Judith Malina, a pioneer in experimental and political theater
KORACH follows the history of anarchists who have been wiped out because they frightened the government. Inspired by the Books of Moses, the Jewish Mishnas, and also the Psalms, KORACH begins with the Israelites’ trek through the desert and eventual uprising against Moses, lead by Korach and his tribe. Continue reading Living Theatre Offers Free Live Stream of Final Performances of KORACH
Living Legend Judith Malina has been hard at work on a new show with her vigorous ensemble of players at The Living Theatre. Now in their 63rd season, (you read that correctly) Malina has begun previews for her latest experimental production, KORACH. They note that the piece is “a new play based on the Biblical account of Korach, ‘the first recorded anarchist in history,’ who challenged the authority of Moses over the Israelites; a pivotal point in their 40-year trek through the desert after their liberation from Egyptian slavery.” For more about the show and the historic Living Theatre, visit (Off)broadwayworld here. The show will officially open on December 16. $20 (Wed. pay-what-you-can) // Wed.-Sat. // 8pm // 21 Clinton Street.
This weekly feature spotlights a wide variety of people who live and work on the Lower East Side. If you have someone you would like to recommend for “My LES,” please email us here.
What do you do?
I’m the Associate Artistic Director and Administrative Director at The Living Theatre, as well as Personal and Business Manager to Judith Malina, Artistic Director of The Living Theatre.
The Theater for the New City has released its schedule for the 14th Annual LES Festival of the Arts. Among the featured performers are jazz composer and musician David Amram, Judith Malina of the Living Theater, Broadway actress Vinie Burrows and composer Phoebe Legere. There will also be a film festival a block party and special events for kids. The festival is May 22-23. All events are free. Broadway World has all the details. You can also check out the complete schedule at the Theater for the New City's web site.
Incidentally, we did an extensive interview with the Living Theater's Judith Malina, a living legend. We'll have a video report on her efforts to reshape the Living Theater for a new generation in the next couple of weeks.
