Going ‘Under the Radar’ with international experimental theater

Two years ago, the annual Under the Radar festival (which showcases international, experimental and multidisciplinary theater) was unexpectedly canceled by the Public Theater, its longtime presenter, due to financial issues. In response, the festival was quickly reconceived as a citywide effort involving several other theater companies, allowing it to move forward.

The festival, now in its 21st edition, returns this month with productions at theaters across the city from Jan. 7 to 25. (A complete list of shows and venues is available at utrfest.org.) We asked festival founder and director Mark Russell and co-creative director and producer-in-residence Meropi Peponides to talk about ten of this year’s shows.

Ulysses: MR: “As written by James Joyce and interpreted by Elevator Repair Service. John Collins is a genius director, and this cast is amazing. They have managed to make this important doorstop of a book into a rollicking two-hour intensive theatrical ride. ERS’s “Gatz” (“The Great Gatsby”) had its first performances at Under the Radar in 2005, and it went on to tour the world.”

12 Last Songs: MP: “I’m a sucker for a theatrical experiment as well as durational theatre, and this fuses those with another one of my passions: recognizing and celebrating the laborers of NYC. This 12-hour piece – you can come and go as you please – includes performances from 30 workers, none of whom are actors, and all of whom are actually doing their job or demonstrating their job live in the theatre.”

The Rest of Our Lives: MR: “Everyone needs to see ‘The Rest of Our Lives.’ Why? Because it brings real joy, which is in such short supply lately. It is so much fun to see Jo Fong and George Orange from the UK, both former Ballet Rambert dancers, tease us with their humorous and poignant perspective on life.”

Friday Night Rat Catchers: MP: “This is an incredible dance-theatre piece by the wild and weird duo Lisa Fagan and Lena Engelstein. The work interrogates our era of hyperconsumption, the questionable behavior of powerful men, and the number of rocks one can hold at a time.”

Watch Me Walk: MR: “Anne Gridley, one of downtown’s most compelling performers, discusses her disability with humor and sharp wit. Formerly a star performer with The Nature Theater of Oklahoma, seeing Anne create her own work is a gift for everyone who has enjoyed her unique performances with that legendary company.”

UlyssesPhoto courtesy of Under the Radar Festival

Mami: MP: “This is the US debut for Mario Banushi, an extraordinary young director who has made waves across the European festival circuit. I first had the opportunity to see Banushi’s work in Berlin and was bowled over by the almost expressionistic stage imagery that he leans on to tell his stories. Most of his works do not use text. This piece is about mother/child relationships – a universal theme to which I’m sure he’ll bring a unique perspective.”

DARKMATTER: MR: “Under the Radar always brings something that pushes the envelope of what is performance. This year, that is ‘DARKMATTER’ by Cherish Menzo, one of the new names in dance performance art from Europe.”

Love Force: MP: “Sunny Jain is telling an important and timely story about intertwined struggles for liberation across the 20th century, linking the movement for Black Liberation to his own family’s history and the importance of Black and Brown solidarity, especially in this political moment that seeks to divide and turn us against one another.”

TESTO: MR: “There is a lot in the news about trans people, as our government tries to stamp out years of progress for their civil rights. ‘TESTO’ by Wet Mess is a full-on cabaret performance from the UK. Wet Mess delivers outrageous, hilarious, unforgettable controlled chaos.”

Llontop: MP: “This is a gorgeous multimedia piece that connects archival objects with live conversation between people in the theatre and people in the Andes mountains in real time. It’s a wonderful entwining of the past, present and future that employs multiple modes of visual and aural storytelling. The live performance component of the piece is in Quechua, an indigenous language of the Andes, which I’m so excited for New York audiences to hear inside a theatre.”