Photo caption: Left to right: Bonnie Comley, Evelyn Duggan, Sorin Prodea, Anthony Roques
Avant-garde theater director Robert Wilson and his ensemble cast of Ubu didn’t let a Hampton’s downpour stop the show at The Watermill Center. The US and international performers, including Yunseo Choi (Republic of Korea), Bonnie Comley (United States), Evelyn Dugan (United States), Cecilia Xuetong Feng (China), Maryann Leone (Greece), Casilda Madrazo (Mexico), Katimari Niskala (Finland), Sorin Prodea (Romania), Anthony Roques (France), Agathe Vidal (France), Sienna Vila Holloway (Spain) took to the stage in their costumes made of paper for an abbreviated performance narrated by Wilson.
Robert Wilson’s “Ubu” restaging, inspired by Alfred Jarry’s 1896 classic, “Ubu Roi,” critiques war and totalitarianism. Originally presented at the Es Baluard Museum in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, “Ubu” is a surreal reflection of paradoxical inequalities throughout history and the modern day. The surreal play was almost upstaged by the surreal surroundings, a set made of newspapers and costumes made of newspapers in a 500-seat amphitheater on a 10-acre wooded performance laboratory under torrential rainfall. The show stopped and started three times before proceeding with soggy actors and audience members. Robert Wilson did not throw away his shot to dazzle the crowd after the sound system flooded; he barked out dialogue and directions like a caller at a square dance while the cast graciously danced across the stage under Wilson’s magnificent lighting design. The stage backdrop was the property’s forest, and Wilson had bathed the 100-foot-tall trees in moody blues and blood-red lights. The event turned out to be a magical night in an enchanted forest. Robert Wilson’s production of Ubu is scheduled for an upcoming tour of Europe, where most of the venues are indoors!
The evening celebrated The Robert Wilson Watermill Center as a world-renowned interdisciplinary laboratory for the arts and humanities and its 30+ year association with performance. Aperol and Campari America and Wölffer Estate Vineyard provided refreshments, additional support was provided by PFRANKMD by Dr. Paul Jarrod Frank and Prada.
Robert Wilson has a sixty-year career that spans theater, opera, art, and dance. His multi-hyphenate job titles are director, choreographer, performer, painter, sculptor, video artist, and sound designer, to name a few. Born in Texas, he moved to New York City to study and did shows on Broadway and Lincoln Center before heading to Europe. His work in the United States is quite often met with applause and head-scratching. It’s lauded for design and craft elements, but the narratives are beyond comprehension for most audience members. Yet, in Europe, he is embraced and celebrated on all levels. His list of honors and awards for excellence includes a Pulitzer Prize nomination, two Premio Ubu awards, the Golden Lion of the Venice Biennale, and an Olivier Award. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the German Academy of the Arts and holds 8 Honorary Doctorate degrees. France pronounced him Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters (2003) and Officer of the Legion of Honor); Germany awarded him the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit.
The UBU production credits are Text by Eli Troen, Robert Wilson, and Charles Chemin
based on the play “UBU” by Alfred Jarry, created initially at the Es Baluard Museum, Palma, Spain are Robert Wilson (Direction, Set & Lighting Design), Charles Chemin (Co-Director), Marcello Lumaca (Associate Lighting Designer), Stephanie Engeln (Associate Set Designer), Flavio Pezzotti (Associate Set Designer), Flavia Ruggeri (Costumes), Joan Baixas & La Claca (Puppet Design, based on original designs by Joan Miró), Andreas Andreou (Assistant Director), Lyuba Todorova (Stage Manager), Chloé Bellemere (Set, Light, & Prop Assistant), Simon Cristian Petru (Set, Light, & Prop Assistant), Johan O.R. Sterner (Set, Light & Prop Assistant), Sienna Vila Holloway (Set, Light, & Prop Assistant), Afra Al Dhaheri (Production Assistant), Ava Locks (Production Assistant), Silver Roostik (Production Assistant), and Dovydas Strimaitis (Production Assistant).
For more information about Robert Wilson and The Watermill Center, see www.WatermillCenter.org