PHOTO CALL: Foreman's Idiot Savant, with Dafoe, at the Public

By Matthew Blank
03 Nov 2009

Willem Dafoe stars in the world premiere of Richard Foreman's Idiot Savant at the Public Theater.

Foreman directs and co-designs the production, presented in association with his Ontological-Hysteric Theater.

Dafoe is joined onstage by Alenka Kraigher as Marie and Elina Löwensohn as Olga, with Joel Israel, Eric Magnus and Daniel Allen Nelson as Slaves.

The work is described by the Public as "a wild theatrical odyssey that could only have sprung from the fantastical mind of Richard Foreman, New York's legendary avant-garde genius. This new work is a philosophical comedy, in the great tradition of Ionesco and Preston Sturges. From precise existential and metaphysical acrobatics, to a ridiculous game of inter-species golf with a Giant Duck, Idiot Savant is a fresh, bracing and hilarious exploration of the boundaries of the legitimate."

Here is a first look at the show, which runs through Dec. 13:

View the Entire Photo Gallery
Willem Dafoe
Photo by Joan Marcus



For tickets visit PublicTheater.

The Public Theater is located at 425 Lafayette Street in Manhattan.