ArtsEmerson Announces The U.S. Premiere Of Sulayman Al-Bassam's IN THE ERUPTIVE MODE

ArtsEmerson, Boston's leading presenter of contemporary world theatre, proudly welcomes the return of celebrated Arab theatre-maker Sulayman Al Bassam (The Speakers Progress, 2011) with In The Eruptive Mode, which gives voice to six stories of endurance and resistance by Arab women caught in the turmoil of the Arab Spring. In The Eruptive Mode is performed and subtitled in Arabic and English and accompanied by live music. The production runs one week only, January 24 through 28, 2018 at the Emerson Paramount Center's Robert J. Orchard Stage, located at 559 Washington Street in Downtown Boston. Tickets range from $20-80, and may be purchased online at www.ArtsEmerson.org, by phone at 617.824.8400, or in person at the box office. Student, senior and group discounts are available.

"We are pleased to welcome back Sulayman, and to keep a spotlight on the Arab world further into the season following on the heels of Kiss and Gardens Speak," shares ArtsEmerson Artistic Director David Dower. "All of these pieces play against the shifting background of our own politics. Beauty and emotion are what originally drew us to share Sulayman's stories, and now this piece, centered on women and the resistance, arrives at a particularly heated moment in our own country."

About In The Eruptive Mode
In 2011, democratic uprisings erupted all over the Arab world. Citizens challenged their leadership and questioned regimes. In the Eruptive Mode presents six stories of ordinary citizens - all women - caught in the violence and chaos of the Arab Spring. Through visceral songs and spoken word, this show unveils unheard voices, each at their own point of no return. Internationally acclaimed Anglo-Kuwaiti writer and director Sulayman Al-Bassam brought his inventive, satirical take on Shakespeare's The Speaker's Progress to ArtsEmerson in 2011. Now he returns with a powerful new feat of storytelling. Through voice and song, In the Eruptive Mode embraces contemporary language to respond to the challenges that still reign across much of the Arab world. Raw, melodic, and entirely original: these are voices of the Arab Spring.

"Each of the characters exists in a distinct relationship to the geographies and timelines of the Middle East region following the popular uprisings of 2012," shares writer/director Sulayman Al-Bassam. "Some, like the character in The Lament of the Young Prostitute, are unwittingly caught up in events at an early point of civil unrest; others, like the sniper from a minority Christian community in Chant of the White Phoenix, are trapped inside the infernal horror of civil war. There are outsiders to the region also, like the war journalist in Vertical Vision - inspired by Marie Colvin, The Sunday Times correspondent killed whilst reporting on the siege of Homs in Syria - who is consumed by the need to bear witness to the suffering of other."

In The Eruptive Mode premieres in the US at the Emerson Paramount Center on the Robert J. Orchard Stage as part of an ongoing international tour.

In the Eruptive Mode Creative Credits
Writer and Director: Sulayman Al-Bassam
Scenic and Lighting Designer: Eric Soyer
Composer/Musician: Brittany Anjou

About Sulayman Al Bassam
Born in Kuwait in 1972, Sulayman Al Bassam founded Zaoum Theatre in London in 1996. SABAB Theatre is the Arabic arm, established in 2002. His plays have been published in various languages and study of his work forms part of higher education curricula at universities in the USA and the Middle East. He produces work in both English and Arabic languages. Sulayman lives between Paris and Kuwait. Future projects include The Lamentation for the Destruction of Ur at the Louvre Museum, Paris and a new play The Petrol Station.

About ArtsEmerson
ArtsEmerson is Boston's leading presenter of contemporary world theatre. It is dedicated to engaging all communities through stories that reveal and deepen connections to each other. By cultivating diversity in the art and in the audience, ArtsEmerson ignites public conversation around the most vexing societal challenges as a catalyst for overcoming them. ArtsEmerson is committed to welcoming everyone into its landmark venues, located in Boston's downtown Theatre District, for a diverse program of contemporary theatre, film, and music from around the city and around the world. In addition, ArtsEmerson engages in a range of community partnerships and produces a series of initiatives that make visible the rich diversity of cultural activity in the region. These programs are core to ArtsEmerson's mission and expresses commitment to civic responsibility to create a more cohesive society. ArtsEmerson is led by Artistic Director, David Dower and Executive Director, David Howse. For more information, visit ArtsEmerson.org.

About Emerson College
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, opposite the historic Boston Common and in the heart of the city's Theatre District, Emerson College educates individuals who will solve problems and change the world through engaged leadership in communication and the arts, a mission informed by liberal learning. The College has 3,780 undergraduates and 670 graduate students from across the United States and 50 countries. Supported by state-of-the-art facilities and a renowned faculty, students participate in more than 90 student organizations and performance groups. Emerson is known for its experiential learning programs in Los Angeles, Washington, DC, the Netherlands, London, China, and the Czech Republic. The College has an active network of 39,000 alumni who hold leadership positions in communication and the arts. For more information, visit emerson.edu.

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