Yale Rep Announces World Performance Project Series

­Yale Repertory Theatre will join forces with Yale's World Performance Project for a new, three-part series which will introduce international work and artists to New Haven in the 2007-2008 season. 
 
The Veiled Monologues, described in press notes as "a surprisingly honest portrayal of female sexuality and love under Islam," opens the inaugural World Performance Project series, October 23 to 27.  "After acting in a production of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues, Dutch performer and director Adelheid Roosen posed similar questions about sexuality to Muslim women living in the Netherlands.  From their testimonies of cultural practices and personal stories filled with joy and pain, humor and dignity, Roosen has created a lively, poetic, and illuminating piece of theatre."
 
Since its premiere in 2001, The Veiled Monologues has been performed before the Dutch Parliament between debates on the constitutional rights of religious minorities, and at a national convention of police officers in Holland.  New Haven is the third stop on an American premiere tour of The Veiled Monologues, which begins in New York City (October 2 to 14, presented by St. Ann's Warehouse) followed in Cambridge (October 16 to 21 at American Repertory Theatre).  The Veiled Monologues will be performed in English by a cast of four Muslim women.
 
Perú Negro, an exuberant folkloric ensemble from Lima, Peru, performs January 30 and 31.  "Founded in 1969 to preserve the legacy of Afro-Peruvian music and dance as a living tradition, Perú Negro has become widely known in the United States through recent tours and recordings.  (Jolgorio, released by Times Square Records, received 2005 Grammy nominations for 'Best Traditional World Music Album' and 'Best Latin Album.'  A new release is anticipated in January 2008.)  Dance is integral to Perú Negro's soulful, sensuous, and celebratory performances.  Colorfully costumed performers provide a rhythmic and visual counterpoint to the singers, percussionists, and guitarists."
 
Farm in the Cave Theatre Studio was a favorite among reviewers of the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe Festival when it presented its Sclavi/ The Song of an Emigrant.  The movement theatre company from Prague in the Czech Republic will stage the work once more for its American debut in New Haven, April 3 to 5.
 
"Sclavi is the Latin word that associated slaves as people of Slavic origins.  With fierce physicality, full-throated song, and a text spoken in many languages, this episodic work depicts the bruising lives and unrequited longing common to all migrant workers."
 
All World Performance Project events will be accompanied by workshops, "Talk Backs," and symposia at Yale University's Whitney Humanities Center.
 
World Performance Project promotes interdisciplinary research in performance studies focusing on cultural performance of all kinds, from theatrical presentations to rites of passage.  The project expands its frontiers anywhere significant performances are likely to take place, from Yorubaland to Disneyland.  For more information, visit www.yale.edu/wpp.  World Performance Project is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.  
 
Yale Rep subscribers and pass holders may take advantage of discount prices to World Performance Project events until August 30 ($34, $30 for seniors, and $10 for students).  After August 30, all single tickets are $48, $38 for seniors, and $20 for students. 
 
To order tickets, visit www.yalerep.org, call (203) 432-1234, or visit Yale Rep's box office at 1120 Chapel Street (at York Street).  In May, box office hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, noon to 5 p.m.  From June to August, the box office is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.