The Public Presents BERLIN/WALL Contrasting Solo Monologues 5/14-17

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) will present, BERLIN/WALL, two contrasting solo monologues written and performed by David Hare, for five performances only, May 14-17. In BERLIN/WALL, Hare visits a place where a famous wall has come down; then another where the wall is going up.

Tickets for this limited engagement are available now by calling (212) 967-7555 or visiting www.publictheater.org. An expanded number of rush tickets are available the day of the show at The Public Theater box office.

BERLIN premiered at London's National Theatre in February 2009 and WALL premiered at The Royal Court Theatre in March 2009.

"David Hare has been making theater about our world's great social issues for over 30 years," said Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. "These two penetrating and surprising monologues are characterized by his acute insight, tremendous charm, and his profound sense of humanity. We are delighted to welcome David back to The Public and honored to have Stephen Daldry make his Public Theater debut."

BERLIN
For his whole adult life, David Hare has been visiting the city which so many young people regard as the most exciting in Europe. But there's something in Berlin's elusive character that makes him feel he's always missing the point. Now, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall, he reads a 55-minute meditation about Germany's restored capital - both what it represents in European history, and the peculiar part it has played in his own life.

WALL
The Israeli/Palestine security fence will one day stretch 486 miles, from one end of Israel to the other. It will be four times as long as the Berlin wall, and in places twice as high. In this second monologue, Hare offers a history of the wall's building, an exploration of the philosophy behind it and a personal account of those who live on either side.

BERLIN/WALL will feature lighting design by Rick Fisher.

David Hare (Playwright/Performer). His relationship with The Public Theater goes back to Joe Papp's production of his very first play SLAG in 1971. Most recently, his play about the diplomatic process leading up to the Iraq war, Stuff Happens, was presented by The Public in 2006 and for one-night-only at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. He has had 10 of his plays presented on Broadway, including The Public Theater production of Plenty with Kate Nelligan (which he directed and which was subsequently filmed with Meryl Streep); The Secret Rapture with Blair Brown (which he also directed); Skylight with Michael Gambon and Lia Williams; Amy's View with Judi Dench; The Judas Kiss with Liam Neeson; The Blue Room with Nicole Kidman; Via Dolorosa (in which he also performed); and The Vertical Hour with Julianne Moore and Bill Nighy. He wrote and directed three feature films in the 1980s: Wetherby with Vanessa Redgrave, Judi Dench and Ian Holm; Paris by Night with Charlotte Rampling and Michael Gambon; and Strapless with Blair Brown and Bruno Ganz. In 2007, he directed Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking on Broadway, also starring Ms. Redgrave. His many screenplays include Damage with Juliette Binoche, Jeremy Irons and Miranda Richardson; The Hours with Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman; and The Reader with Kate Winslett and Ralph Fiennes, the last two both directed by Stephen Daldry.

Stephen Daldry (Director). His theatrical directing credits include Billy Elliot the Musical (currently on Broadway, in London, and in Sydney); Far Away (Royal Court, Albery Theatre and New York Theatre Workshop); Via Dolorosa with David Hare (Royal Court, Duchess Theatre and Broadway); A Number, Rat in the Skull, Body Talk, The Kitchen, The Editing Process and Search and Destroy for the Royal Court; An Inspector Calls (National Theater, West End, Broadway and worldwide); Machinal at the National; and Damned for Despair, The Fleisser Plays, Figaro Gets Divorced at the Gate Theatre. Many productions at Sheffield Crucible Theatre, where he started his career under the late Clare Veneable. Also productions at Manchester Library Theatre, Liverpool Playhouse, Stratford East, Oxford Stage, Brighton and Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Daldry was Artistic Director of The Royal Court Theatre (1992-98), the Gate Theatre (1989-92) and the Metro Theatre Company (1984-86). He has won many awards for his theatrical work both in the UK and the U.S. Daldry was a recent Oscar nominee for directing The Reader starring Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes and has produced two "Omnibus" programs for BBC2. His first feature film, Billy Elliot, won more than 40 awards worldwide and received three Oscar nominations, including Best Director. His second feature, The Hours, also won innumerable international awards, including Best Picture at the Golden Globes, and received nine Oscar and 11 BAFTA nominations.

The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Andrew D. Hamingson, Executive Director) was founded by Joseph Papp in 1954 as the Shakespeare Workshop and is now one of the nation's preeminent cultural institutions, producing new plays, musicals, productions of Shakespeare, and other classics at its headquarters on Lafayette Street and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The Public's mandate to create a theater for all New Yorkers continues to this day on stage and through its extensive outreach and education programs. Each year, over 250,000 people attend Public Theater-related productions and events at six downtown stages, including Joe's Pub, and Shakespeare in the Park. The Public has won 41 Tony Awards, 145 Obies, 39 Drama Desk Awards, 24 Lucille Lortel Awards and 4 Pulitzer Prizes.

BERLIN/WALL will be performed Thursday, May 14 at 8 PM; Friday, May 15 at 8 PM; Saturday, May 16 at 8 PM; and Sunday, May 17 at 2 PM and 7 PM.

The Public Theater is located at 425 Lafayette Street. All tickets are $50 for all performances. For BERLIN/WALL, an expanded number of Rush Tickets will be sold an hour before curtain. (Two per person, $20 each, cash only).

To purchase tickets, please call (212) 967-7555 or visit www.publictheater.org.

 

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