An Evening of Harold Pinter in Promenade Style

This curated evening presented the work of Blake E. Bolan, Terry Hempleman, Jeffry Lusiak, Maggie Scanlan with dramaturge Kit Gordon, Jason Brown and Max Mondi.

Prior to and following Harold Pinter’s death on Christmas Eve, a consortium of local independent artists and researchers have been mining Harold Pinter’s large body of work for performance.  For two weekends in February, 2010 three of his short works and one original piece inspired by Pinter’s memory plays unfolded throughout a Minneapolis warehouse in the North Loop neighborhood.

Using the work of Harold Pinter as a binding element, the Mpls Pinter Studies is a laboratory for theatre artists.

“I began this project to discover a consciousness of process in the field of performance creation, to create a forum for artists to engage in conscious text exploration, to open up exchange among directors and to configure a lively and exiting look at the work of rich and relevant writer.”

– Scotty Reynolds

Family Voices

Directed by Jeffry Lusiak; Featuring Jeffry Lusiak with Lola Lesheim, Tim Daly and Charles Schuminski, installation support from Kristi Ternes and Jason Bucklin

A series of letters between the son and mother give a glimpse of the son’s seedy and colorful existence in the city and the crumbling, desperation of the home he left. Originally written for the radio in 1981, the futility of communication and the fragility of memory tangle this multi-media installation.

The Black and White

Directed by Terry Hempleman; Featuring Camilla Hempleman

A selection from Pinter’s Revue Sketches, this piece portrays the minutia of a woman’s life in terrifying ambiguity and heartbreakingly human detail. The bus, the cafe, and the listener are the touchstones she clings to in a strange world.

One for the Road

Directed by Maggie Scanlan; Featuring Michael Ooms, Sheila Regan, Kevin Gersen and Theo

One of Pinter’s most political works, this 1984 play explores the human desire to dominate and control.  Nicolas interrogates his prisoners, a couple and their young son. We witness Nicolas’ mastery as he creates exquisite terror probing the weaknesses of human connection and affection.

These Are the Men

Written and directed by Blake E. Bolan; Featuring Laura Laffler-McCabe, Todd Janssen, Tera Kilbride and Joe Song

An original exploration of truth and lies, presence and absence and personal mystery. This short work is a journey into the intimate spaces of Oedipus, with Harold Pinter’s aesthetic and unease as our lens.