La MaMa has announced initial programming for its upcoming fall season, including the New York premiere of Burning Doors, a collaboration between Belarus Free Theatre and Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina.
Performances of Burning Doors will run October 13–22 at the downtown venue. The show marks the joined forces of two ensembles who have witnessed firsthand oppression from their governments for their art. Directed by Nicolai Khalezin and Natalia Kaliada, the piece explores what happens when artists are imprisoned for expression through the lens of those very persecuted creators.
The season kicks off September 19 with Lu! Lu! Lu! Lu!, An Evening Celebrating Spiderwoman Theater’s 40 Years. The gala event will honor the contributions to Native, feminist, and avant-garde theatre that the diverse collective has fostered since 1976.
Additional productions on tap for the company include the Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival staging of the playwright’s Kingdom of Earth. The Fred Abrahamse-helmed production, featuring original music by Charl-Johan Lingenfelder, will run October 5–8. The cast will include Anthea Thompson as Myrtle, Marcel Meyer as Chicken, and Matthew Baldwin as Lot.
From November 2–19, La MaMa will present the world premiere of Don’t Feed the Indians, created, written, and directed by Murielle Borst-Tarrant. Inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy, the satire explores the marginalization and cultural appropriation of Indigenous Peoples—and what happens when members of indigenous nations push back. The piece is a project of La MaMa’s Safe Harbors Indigenous Collective, which addresses Indigenous cultural and socioeconomic issues through performance and outreach.
The world premiere of Upside Down will be presented November 30–December 10. Dario D’Ambrosi’s play—a collaboration between the Rome-based Teatro Patologico and ZCO/DANCEPROJECT—tells the story of a young, able-bodied woman whose status quo is challenged upon entering a world of people unlike her. The cast will largely feature differently abled actors.
For a complete lineup of the theatre’s upcoming programming, visit LaMaMa.org.
