London's Donmar to Present Staged Reading of 'In Darfur'

The Public Theater has announced that The Donmar Warehouse in London, in association with producer Arielle Tepper Madover, will present a staged reading of Winter Miller's In Darfur on July 9, the same day that The Public will host a reading of the play at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.  

Building on the successful run of In Darfur at the Public in April and the one-night only event at the Delacorte, this unprecedented collaboration creates a trans-Atlantic event that galvanizes two great theater communities around one of the most pressing humanitarian crises of our time.   

The reading at the Donmar will be directed by Charlotte Westenra (whose credits include Kiss of the Spider Woman at the Donmar; Darfur – How Long is Never?, as co-director, at the Tricycle; and Frost/Nixon, as Associate Director).

The reading is for an invited audience and will take place at 3 pm on July 9th at the Donmar Warehouse Theatre. The confirmed cast includes Obi Abili, Adjoa Andoh, Michelle Bonnard, Sarah Paul, and Ony Uhiara.

The Public's reading, directed by Joanna Settle, will take place at the Delacorte Theater on July 9th at 8:00 pm. The post-show discussion led by Oskar Eustis will also include Mark Hanis, Omer Ismail, Nicholas Kristof, Samantha Power, and John Prendergast. Before the performance, Darfuri refugee and activist Daoud Ibarahaem Hari will provide brief introductory remarks about the crisis in Darfur.

"We are delighted that the Donmar Warehouse is joining us in presenting Winter Miller's timely and important play to the world. The theater can change the world, not merely interpret it," said Public Theater artistic director Oskar Eustis.

"Working as research assistant to Nicholas Kristof, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist at the New York Times, Playwright Winter Miller is immersed in the issues surrounding the ongoing genocide in Darfur. In Darfur is the provocative account of three intertwined lives at a camp for internally displaced persons in Darfur. The story follows an aid worker's mission to save and protect lives, a journalist's pursuit to deliver a 'Page One' story and a Darfuri woman's quest for safety. It is a searing story of urgency and international significance," as described in press materials.

The developmental production of In Darfur, directed by Joanna Settle, ran from April 13th to April 29th at The Public Theater.  In Darfur was also featured in the fall 2007 New Work Now!, The Public's nationally recognized festival of free play readings that showcases a new generation of playwrights. 

In choosing to program In Darfur at The Delacorte, Artistic Director Oskar Eustis stated "We ran Winter Miller's powerful and timely play in the Shiva Theater at The Public for three weeks and the response was amazing, on both an artistic and a political level. We want to build on the seminal experience we had last fall, with our one-night reprise of David Hare's brilliant Stuff Happens, by using the bully pulpit of the Delacorte to bring attention, not only to this important play, but to this critically important human rights issue. The theater can be an extraordinary forum for debate about the great issues of our time, and no issue is more critically important than the genocide in Darfur and no theater better suited to rouse our consciences than the Delacorte."

The cast of the Public's In Darfur includes Ron Brice, Zainab Jah, Aaron Lohr, Heather Raffo, Maduka Steady, Sharon Washington and Rutina Wesley.

Visit www.publictheater.org or www.donmarwarehouse.com for more information.

 

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