Photo Flash: First Look at 'KNOCK,' Opening Tonight at The Players Theatre

Lost & Found Project, an edgy ensemble of next generation storytellers, curates a world premiere of KNOCK: A Journey to a Strange Country, a new play inspired by writings of the Russian avant-garde absurdist Daniil Kharms. KNOCK is written and presented by the award-winning Lost & Found Project, a division of National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) FolksbieneRU. Eleven performances will be staged at The Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal Street, in New York, N.Y., from March 4-22, 2015.

Under acclaimed Russian director Alexandre Marine, KNOCK is a metaphorical exploration of action, inevitability, success, and dreaming, through the cracked lens of Russian absurdist writer Daniil Kharms. KNOCK takes you on a journey to a strange country where people act without consequences and disappear so thoroughly they may never have existed at all.

Continuing the company's tradition of working with the Verbatim technique, KNOCK, the third original production by Lost & Found Project, merges personal experiences of the cast with Kharms' absurd stories and brings them to the stage. The result is a surreal exploration of the absurdity that surrounds us in everyday world.

The play continues a trend of absurdist-inspired international productions in New York City's modern Off Off Broadway scene combining Jewish sensibilities with the best of classical Russian/Stanislavsky theatre, including The Wooster Group's heralded 2014 Mikail Baryshnikov / Willem DeFoe production of The Old Woman at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and recent Eugene Ionesco and Samuel Beckett productions. Russian actress Darya Ekamasova (Best Actress, Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences' Nika Award 2012) and Israeli actor Gera Sandler(co-star of the feature film "A Tale of Love and Darkness," dir. Natalie Portman, 2015) are among the actors of the ensemble.

Alexandre Marine, who has adapted KNOCK with Boris Zilberman, will direct a cast of nine In addition to Ekamasova and Sandler, ensemble members include Masha King, Sergey Nagorny, Marina Reydler, Elena Rickman, Russell Verkhovskiy, Anya Zicer, and Boris Zilberman.

FolksbieneRU is a partnership initiative of Genesis Philanthropy Group and National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (www.nytf.org).

"We are thrilled to support FolksbieneRU and the Lost & Found Project in their innovative efforts to connect the Russian-speaking Jewish community with their roots through theater," said Marina Yudborovsky, regional director of Genesis Philanthropy Group in North America. "The Lost & Found Project brings true stories to life and relays the realities of the Russian Jewish American experience."

KNOCK plays for 11 performances from March 4-22, 2015. Performances are Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. There is no performance on Saturday, March 7.

Tickets are $35. Visit OvationTix.com or call 212-352-3101.

Photos by George Itzhak

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