OUR CLASS Enters Final Week of Performances at Brooklyn Academy Of Music

New Yorkers have only one more week to see Our Class, the award-winning play by Tadeusz Słobodzianek, currently running at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Fisher Fishman Space (321 Ashland Place, Brooklyn). Now playing through February 11, Our Class is directed by Igor Golyak (The Orchard; Just Tell No One; State vs. Natasha Banina), produced by MART Foundation and Arlekin Players Theatre, and was an official selection of the Under The Radar Festival.

The cast of Our Class features Gus Birney (The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window) as Dora, Andrey Burkovskiy  (Call DiCaprio!) as Menachem, José Espinosa (Take Me Out) as Rysiek, Tess Goldwyn (New Amsterdam) as Zocha, Will Manning (As Reaper in the Summer Gain) as Heniek, Stephen Ochsner (Chicks) as Jakub Katz, Alexandra Silber (Fiddler on the Roof) as Rachelka/Marianna, Richard Topol (Indecent; The Normal Heart) as Abram, Ilia Volok (Gemini Man, The Gaaga) as Władek and Elan Zafir (Hedda Gabler) as Zygmunt.

Our Class is based on real events, and follows 10 classmates — five Jewish and five Catholic — as they grow up as playmates, friends and neighbors, then turn on one another with life and death consequences. Inspired by real life events surrounding a horrific 1941 pogrom in the small village of Jedwabne, Poland, the play follows their lives from childhood through eight decades in a contemporary new production, directed by Jewish, Ukrainian-born director Igor Golyak.

The piece comes at a time when the world is facing an increase in antisemitism across the globe and is witnessing horrific wars in Ukraine and Israel. Our Class brings the audience on a journey with ten young people — classmates — as they move from love and friendship during wartime into unthinkable acts of antisemitism, hatred and violence. It is an exploration of humanity, an effort to comprehend who we are. What would we do, and what will we do, in this situation? Who do we become in the face of past and current aggression? What are we capable of and ultimately how can we live in the face of these realities?

The creative team, like the cast, brings together artists from New York and across the world, including scenic designer Jan Pappelbaum of the Schaubheune, сostume design by Sasha Ageeva, lighting design by Adam Silverman, music by Oscar winner Anna Drubich (Navalny), sound design by Ben Williams, projections design by Eric Dunlap, hair & makeup design by Timur Sadykov, and dramaturgy by Dr. Rachel Merrill Moss. Kyra Bowie is the production stage manager. Helmed by Golyak, this cross-cultural collaboration between actors, designers, producers, artists and technicians is an effort to untangle traumas of the past and wrestle with these same questions of today. Our Class is co-executive produced by MART's Sofia Kapkova and Arlekin's Sara Stackhouse.

“When we started working on Our Class a year ago, our small team believed in it and knew it was timely,” said Igor Golyak. “But now...now to be embraced by New York audiences, Under the Radar Festival, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York actors and press...it's a potent and humbling affirmation. Unfortunately, antisemitism is a light sleeper, and in light of the events of October 7 and an exponential rise in antisemitism everywhere, Our Class illuminates something vividly in this critical moment. It's a powerful experience for us and much more than a play. I'm thrilled we can extend and share Our Class with more people. We love New York and hope you will come see us.”

Our Class will be accompanied by a series of in person author's talks, special events and multimedia initiatives designed to engage communities, young people, and audiences in exploration and dialogue about the human consequences of war, antisemitism, immigrant experience, identity, empathy, and our shared humanity.

Tickets are available on the official website, and run $59-$129. Our Class plays Tuesdays at 7:00pm, Wednesdays at 7:00pm, Thursdays at 7:00pm, Fridays at 7:00pm, Saturdays at 2pm & 7:30pm, and Sundays at 2pm.

Photo Credit: Pavel Antonov

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