October 10 - 16, 2013
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Welcome to their ‘Nightmares’
Buran Theatre’s immersive style is sublime THEATER NIGHTMARES: A DEMONSTRATION OF THE SUBLIME A Buran Theatre production Oct. 17-20, at 8pm & Oct. 20 at 3pm At The Brick 575 Metropolitan Avenue (btw. Union Ave. & Lorimer St.) Williamsburg, Brooklyn Subway: L to Lorimer, G to Metropolitan For tickets ($18): bricktheater.com or 212-352-3101
BY MARTIN DENTON The first Buran Theatre production I saw was “The House of Fitzcarraldo,” which had a brief but memorable run at the Brick in early 2012. We went to the opening night performance, which was sparsely attended because at that point few New Yorkers knew about Buran and their special brand of immersive theater. The first to enter the space, we made our way for the front row, where we always like to sit (because we’re short, and we don’t like to have anyone tall in front of us). But the stage was cluttered with props and — well, stuff — of all kinds and shapes and sizes, starting with a heavy length of rope laid out across the edge. Behind it, blithely tuning up, sat a man with a guitar. Not wanting to mess with their set, I asked the musician, “Is it okay for us to sit in the front row?” And not missing a beat, he replied “It’s fine, but you might get splashed with beer.” And in a way, that’s all you need to know about the Buran aesthetic. It is fine, and you might get splashed with beer. But you’re going to be in for a whirlwind of a night that’s going to engage all your senses, including the ones that are too rarely engaged in the theater these days — the ones that make you do the deepest, heartiest thinking; the ones that make a Buran work linger in your consciousness for days and weeks after you see it. New Yorkers are getting another chance to catch the current Buran opus in October, again at the Brick, for a too-short run of just four days. This one has the marvelous title “Nightmares: A Demonstration of the Sublime.” It premiered at the Brick right after New Year’s, to considerable acclaim — not just from me, but from a number of other observers, including Mitch Montgomery (then writing for Back Stage),
who astutely identified “Nightmares” as “overwhelming” and “an expressionist critical mass…vehemently defying categorization.” Even if you saw it then, you will still want to see it now, because it’s changed a whole bunch since January. The Buran aesthetic is all about process, you see: the joy — the point — of creation for these artists is…creation. So rather than be satisfied with some excellent notices and sold-out houses, Buran followed up the New York run of “Nightmares” with a national tour during which they completely took apart the show, re-cast and re-mounted it three different times in three different cities, and then put it all back together for a new (but I won’t say final) version — the one we’ll be seeing this month. Buran’s co-founder and artistic director Adam R. Burnett explains: “The House of Fitzcarraldo” had five runs in different cities and the performance changed every night. I was cutting and rearranging in the MIDST Photo by Nick Kostner of the performance. I’d come off stage You plagiarist. You little liar: Adam R. Burnett and Jud Knudsen, from the original January and tell everyone, ‘Cut the next scene, 2013 staging of “Nightmares.” move scene nine to scene four’ and such and such. We didn’t have a final run- cussed by these characters and a truly mind- been changed in “Nightmares: as it wendning order until the last few performances blowing animated short film (for want of a ed its way to Kansas, New Mexico and of our run in Brooklyn at The Brick. Now better way to describe it) that I thought was California last summer, that will undoubtthat the show is set in this way, I'm finished. based on sonogram-esque views of the human edly still be true. “The biggest discovery was I have no interest in ever revisiting. And as circulatory system but my companion thought how LARGE and truly OVERWHELMING far I’m concerned, until I find some reason was about the game of “Telephone” that is we could make it,” Adam told me. I hope lots to alter it beyond recognition, it won't be Twitter, filled with almost-accurate, not-quite- of adventurous theatergoers will be excited performed again.” synchronized repetitions of themes….The text to discover just that this month at the Brick. Of course, and happily, that last part is dazzles as it considers our imprecision and There’s lots of information about Buran not necessarily true — Adam has told me our faulty memories: how we muddle and and “Nightmares” on Indie Theater Now at more than once that there may be more mix up words and attributions, and what indietheaternow.com/Company/buran-the“Fitzcarraldo” performances in the future. that does to clear thinking. The direction, by atre — including my podcast conversation I hope so. Burnett, Theresa Buchheister and Knudsen, with Adam and Jud about the tour. So, gosh, here we are halfway through manages the illusion of anarchy without feel Martin Denton has been covering the the article and I haven’t really told you a ing out of control. Nick Kostner’s set is unex- NYC theater scene for nearly two decades. thing about the play itself. “Nightmares” is pectedly lovely.” His current project is Indie Theater Now. an investigation of appropriation and art. It I concluded by encouraging any thought- Launched in 2011, it’s a digital theater wonders how, in an age when precise repro- ful student of contemporary American the- library where people can discover plays from duction of a painting or a piece of music can ater to experience this work. Whatever’s the contemporary indie theater scene. be accomplished cheaply and immediately thanks to modern technology, anything origiTHURSDAY, OCTOBER 31 nal and beautiful can be made. It does this through a story — if “story” is really the Come see and be seen and word. Buran’s work is postdramatic in every sense, always about what’s happening in the Celebrate the Night of Nights! room rather than the travails of made-up characters. Burnett plays a young man, who Costume Parade & Live Bands has acquired some modest fame as a blogMiracles & Monsters HOT FOOD AND HOT ENTERTAINMENT ger. Buran co-founder Jud Knudsen, Buran co-founder and the other pivotal creator of this piece, plays the young man’s friend — Bandstage on E. 10th St at 4:00pm who thinks, just maybe, that the blogs were DOORS OPEN 7:30pm plagiarized. So much goes on in a Buran show! Here’s ALL TICKETS $20 some of what I wrote about it earlier this year: Theater for the New City 155 1st Ave. at East 10th St. “The show contains funny scenes and starfor Info call (212) 254-1109 tling surprises; there are wondrously animatTickets available online at www.theaterforthenewcity.net ed projections of some of the paintings disAlso at www.facebook.com/theaterforthenewcity