New British Play About Intersection of Dawn of Cinema and Jewish Life to Screen at The Clark and the Mahaiwe Live in HD from London’s National Theatre

Antony Sher (Jacob Bindel) and Abigail McKern (Ida) in the National Theatre production of 'Travelling Light'

(WILLIAMSTOWN and GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – Travelling Light, a new tragicomic fable of enchantment by renowned U.K. playwright Nicholas Wright, about the invention of the movies, pre-World War I Jewish life, and the price one pays for artistic passion and commitment, will be screened Live in HD from London’s National Theatre at The Clark in Williamstown, on Thursday, February 9, 2012, at 2 pm, and at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington on Saturday, February 18 at 7 pm.

The play portrays a now famed American film director’s journey of success as he reminisces about his past and confronts the cost of fulfilling his dreams. The play takes one back to a remote village in Eastern Europe, around 1900, and illustrates the journey of the young Motl Mendl as he becomes entranced by flickering silent images on his father’s cinematograph. Motl is encouraged to pursue his passion for film by Jacob, an ebullient local timber merchant, who finances his passion, and Anna, a girl who is sent to help him make moving pictures of their village.

Forty years on, Motl – now a famed American film director – looks back on his early life and confronts the cost of fulfilling his dreams.

Following Vincent in Brixton and The Reporter, Nicholas Wright’s new play is a funny and fascinating tribute to the Eastern European immigrants who became major players in Hollywood’s golden age. The award-winning Antony Sher plays Jacob, and National Theatre artistic director Nicholas Hytner directs. The Daily Telegraph raves, “Wright’s new play is a theatrical valentine to the movies.”

The Clark: Tickets are $25 ($23 members and students) and may be purchased online at The Clark or by calling 413.458.0524. The box office will also be open one hour before the performance, and the doors will open at 1:30 pm.

Mahaiwe: $25 / $18 Students

 

 

 

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