Theater
The Old Woman
Direction, set design, and lighting concept by Robert Wilson
with Mikhail Baryshnikov and Willem Dafoe
Written by Daniil Kharms
Adapted by Darryl Pinckney
Music by Hal Willner
Oscar-nominated actor and founding member of The Wooster Group Willem Dafoe and legendary performer Mikhail Baryshnikov are a dapper odd couple, forced to deal with the most inconsiderate—and inanimate—of houseguests, in this surreal marriage of absurdism, pitch-black comedy, and vaudeville from director Robert Wilson.
Based on the recently rediscovered writings of Russian avant-garde author Daniil Kharms—a master of Beckettian and Kafkaesque nonsensical drama—and adapted by Darryl Pinckney, Wilson’s meticulously designed production riffs ingeniously on Kharms’ warped, disorienting world. Exquisitely lit sets flicker between flatness and depth, repeated gestures and phrases become deliriously strange, and Baryshnikov and Dafoe dazzle as two sides of the same corkscrewed mind, tending darkly to their unknown visitor.
Costumes by Jacques Reynaud
Lighting design by A.J. Weissbard
Sound Design by Marco Olivieri
A Baryshnikov Productions, Change Performing Arts and The Watermill Center project.
Commissioned and produced by Manchester International Festival, Spoleto Festival dei 2Mondi, Théâtre de la Ville-Paris/Festival d’Automne à Paris and deSingel, Antwerp.
Bank of America cardholders save 10% on tickets for select BAM 2014 Winter/Spring Season Theater productions*.
To purchase tickets, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100 or visit the BAM Box Office.
*Maximum of 2 discounted tickets per production per household. Offer is not valid for same-day or prior purchases. Offer may be redeemed by phone or at the BAM box office only; and is subject to availability. Sales are subject to handling and/or facility fees.
This renowned actor has performed in over 80 films.
This legendary dancer has performed widely on stage and in television and film.
Robert Wilson achieved worldwide acclaim for the monumental large-scale opera Einstein on the Beach.