New Play BORDERS Delves Into Conversations Between Two Middle Eastern Gay Men

Dirty Laundry Theatre, an emerging New York City-based theatre production company founded by Israeli-American artists seeking to unite various cultures by airing their "dirty laundry", invite you to review its inaugural production BORDERS, a new play written by Nimrod Danishman and directed by Michael R. Piazza that delves deep into the private gay dating app conversations between two middle-eastern men who struggle with taking their virtual relationship offline and into the real world. The two-hander features Adrian Rifat and Eli M. Shoenfeld.

BORDERS will have two special advance preview engagements this Spring. The first begins on Thursday, March 19th at the Stonewall Inn (marking the first time an Israeli play will be presented at the historic venue's stage) and the second begins on Saturday, April 30th the Kraine Theatre, where it will also have its official opening on Thursday, May 7th. The production will also run during NYC PRIDE weekend, on Sunday, June 14th - Sunday, June 21st at the 14ST Y PRIDE Fest.

"Looking for now?" What divides or connect two people who meet online? The virtual fantasy, the distance, the foreignness, the border? Boaz and George meet on Grindr. They are attracted to one another instantly and want to meet in person, but something prevents them from doing so. One lives in Israel, the other - in Lebanon. Is it just the physical border that keeps them apart? Would their virtual relationship survive in the real world? An intriguing and timely drama about what it means to connect with another human in a highly politicized and hyper-virtual world, BORDERS boldly examine the relationship between virtual space and physical life.

The production is based on actual "across the border" Grindr conversation the Israeli playwright had with an individual in Lebanon, where homosexuality isn't technically unlawful, but the social implications could be harsh. In Israel, on the other hand, although it's socially accepted, same-sex marriage is still illegal - which forces both guys really to look for 'workarounds' to be able to live their true self.

"Airing Israeli 'dirty laundry' beyond the immediately recognizable Middle Eastern conflict, allows us to create a greater mosaic of the little-known and unseen perspectives of day-to-day Israeli life in order to overcome cultural differences and prejudice. These Israeli stories are as personally relatable as they are global," says Founding Artistic Director Maera Daniel Hagage. "As a member of our audience, we invite you to experience a new narrative that might be more familiar to you than you expect.

BORDERS was originally produced in Israel, and made its international premiere as a Dirty Laundry Theatre production at the NY Theatre festival in summer 2019 - where it was nominated for 'BEST PLAY 2019'. It was included in 'the short list of very best fringe theatre in 2019' as well as 'BEST playwright 2019' nomination by the Golden Hedgehog fringe in Israel.

Nimrod Danishman (Playwright) is a theater director, playwright and teacher in Tel Aviv, Israel. During his studies at the School of Performing Arts of Kibbutzim College, he was a co-writer and director of the cabaret "Lema'an Ha'emet" ("To be honest") at Habima National Theatre (2017). After graduating with honors, He wrote and directed his first work, "Borders" at Tzavta Theatre (2018). The play was produced in 2019 at the New York Theater Festival by Dirty Laundry Theater. He directed the short play "Isha Le'Isha" ("Woman to woman") by Roey Maliach Reshef at Playwrights Project (2018), co-directed the play "Yoter Mize Anachnu Lo" ("We are nothing more than that") by Gal Chapsky at Tzavta (2019) and created the documentary show "Kara Be'emet" ("For real") at Tmu-na theatre (2019). Nimrod is passionate about connecting people through Theatre. He teaches theater in high schools in Tel Aviv and Haifa and runs theatre workshops around the country.

Michael R. Piazza (Director) is an actor, director, and theater educator based in New York City. Directing: the East Coast premiere of Marja-Lewis Ryan's award winning play One in the Chamber in Washington DC, Brunch in Babel at the New York Theater Festival, and Romeo and Juliet, The Lottery and The Fall of the City (also adaptor) for the Atlantic Acting School. Michael is a teaching artist with multiple organizations serving all five boroughs, was an adjunct professor at The College of Mount Saint Vincent, and was a faculty member for ten years at the Atlantic Acting School. Michael graduated with honors from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

Dirty Laundry Theatre is a non-for-profit New York-based production company founded by Israeli-American artists who seek to bridge the gap between various cultures by shedding a light on personal narratives that are often overlooked in popular culture. The company strongly believes in the power of personally experienced theatre to change people's lives and hearts, and so is experiencing the stories we choose to stage, stories people can actually connect to from inside-out.

The Kraine Theatre run of BORDERS is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and administered by LMCC.

BORDERS has a running time of 60 minutes. For more info and support: www.dirtylaundrytheatre.org

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