The most noticeable difference between this edition of the International Theatre Festival of Chicago and the four others that preceded it is: there’s no Shakespeare! No sprawling marathons, no this-year’s-Olivier pandering. English theater is still represented–by Alan Ayckbourn’s new play, performed by his own company–but it doesn’t overshadow the rest of the fest. Which might mean that festival organizers trust in their audience’s broadened tastes. Or maybe they’re just burned out on the Bard.
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Performances take place at the following venues: DePaul University’s Merle Reskin Theatre (formerly the Blackstone), 60 E. Balbo; the Wellington Theater (its last offering before it returns to its former incarnation as the Ivanhoe), 750 W. Wellington; the Vic Theatre, 3145 N. Sheffield; and the Navy Pier Skyline Stage, 600 E. Grand (at Lake Michigan). Various public programs augmenting the festival will be held at the Columbia College Theater/Music Center, 72 E. 11th, and the Goodman Theatre Studio, 200 S. Columbus. (A June 1 talk by Alan Ayckbourn at Northwestern University, not presented by the festival, is also listed below.) Single ticket prices are listed for each production; for single ticket orders, call 831-2822. For series tickets, call 664-3378; for group discounts, details on the professional workshops, and general festival information, call 664-3370.
THURSDAY, MAY 26
FRIDAY, MAY 27
El otro exilio (“The Other Exile”)
Communicating Doors
“Those of us who have lived in countries marked by conflicts resulting from conquests, revolutions, and dictatorships, who personify the debate between premodernism and postmodernism and in whom coexist diverse languages, characteristics and idiosyncrasies, and who pretend to live cohesively by a common geography that dictates nationhood . . . we seek the answers to what are the common denominators that define us. But the answers are generally avoided, manufactured, or demagogic.” This statement by Taller del Sotano on its production of Jardin de pulpos (“Octopus Garden”) could be discussing life in the U.S.–but the question driving Jose Acosta Navas’s staging of Aristides Vargas’s script is: “What is a Mexican?” This Mexico City-based experimental troupe, a recent presence on the international theater scene, turns to the work of early 20th-century writers, painters, and musicians to evoke and examine the Mexican national identity. Performed in Spanish with English translation available. Wellington Theater, 9 PM. $20-$25.
