Created and performed by Ben Spatz, Rite of the Butcher is a visceral fable about the power of fantasy, as told by the Butcher -- refugee, criminal, shaman -- through poetry, martial dance, and folk songs in an invented language. This unique work opens new doors for solo theatre by combining rigorous physical and vocal craft with an investigation of pressing contemporary themes. The 45-minute piece deals with loss, trauma, and the fantasy of revenge while shifting back and forth between the style of a traditional monologue and that of European-style experimental performance.
Rite of the Butcher will have its world premiere on Saturday, November 5th at 7:30pm at the United Solo Festival at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street, New York City). Tickets are available at the box office or via Telecharge.
Ben Spatz is Artistic Director of Urban Research Theater. His work with Maximilian Balduzzi has been seen at the Lincoln Center Atrium, Medicine Show, and the Living Theatre, and their next joint creation will open at Abrons Arts Center in 2012. Ben lived in Poland for two years in 2003-2005 and has been profoundly influenced by the legacy of Polish director Jerzy Grotowski. He is a doctoral candidate in Theatre at the City University of New York and an Artist-in-Residence at Movement Research.
Urban Research Theater develops original performances out of a continuous, long-term practice of embodied research. Our commitment to integrating narrative and image with irreducible liveness in performance draws on traditions ranging from Stanislavski and Grotowski in theatre to postmodern dance and performance art. We aim to be a performance laboratory for the twenty-first century.
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
United Solo is the world's largest solo theatre festival, presenting 77 productions this year. All shows will be performed between October 20 - November 20, 2011. More info at unitedsolo.org.
