The Play Company will present the U.S. debut of WORKING ON A SPECIAL DAY, which the company will present in collaboration with Mexico City-based Por Piedad Teatro. Presented as a Studio Production -- which is not open for review -- WORKING ON A SPECIAL DAY will perform January 5 to 15, 2012 at The Flea Theater (41 White St.) in Tribeca.
Originally an Oscar-nominated Italian film "Una Giornata Particolare" ("A Special Day") that was written and directed by Ettore Scola and starred Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni, WORKING ON A SPECIAL DAY was first developed and adapted for the stage in Spanish by two of Mexico’s most prominent theatre artists, Laura Almela and Daniel Giménez Cacho.
The Play Company/Por Piedad Teatro production of WORKING ON A SPECIAL DAY will develop the new English language production of the play during the course of its 10-day Studio Production at The Flea. The English translation of WORKING ON A SPECIAL DAY is by Fernando Gambaroni.
Inspired by Scola's 1977 film, two actors – Por Piedad Teatro’s Ana Graham and Antonio Vega -- explore the life-changing encounter between an overworked housewife and a mysterious bachelor, set against the backdrop of rising fascism on the day of Hitler’s 1938 visit to Mussolini's Italy. With only simple props and the power of the imagination, the actors create a performance that celebrates the essence of theatre.
"Una Giornata Particolare" received two Academy Award nominations including for Best Foreign Language Film.
WORKING ON A SPECIAL DAY is the latest production by The Play Company that features the debut of a foreign play's English-language translation: previously PlayCo presented the debut of Khemiri's Swedish play INVASION! as well as Toshiki Okada's Japanese play ENJOY.
The Play Company is an Off-Broadway theatre now in its 12th year, producing a global program of adventurous new plays by U.S. and international playwrights who bring unique perspectives on the world in the 21st century. Recent productions include the NY premiere of Lloyd Suh's AMERICAN HWANGAP (U.S.), the U.S. premieres of Przemyslaw Wojcieszek's MADE IN POLAND (Poland); Robert Farquhar's BAD JAZZ (England), Vijay Tendulkar's SAKHARAM BINDER (India); Yoji Sakate's THE ATTIC (Japan); and The Presnyakov Brothers' TERRORISM (Russia); as well as world premieres of the American plays SMASHING by Brooke Berman, HIGH DIVE by Leslie Ayvazian and EDGEWISE by Eliza Clark. PlayCo received a 2007 Obie Award for its "unique contribution to the theatre community" and INVASION! won a playwriting Obie for Jonas Hassen Khemiri.
Por Piedad Teatro is a theatre company with its roots in Mexico City. With a production history of more than 10 years, Por Piedad Teatro's past productions in Mexico include THE GOLDEN DRAGON by Roland Schimmelpfennig (Germany); PLAYING THE VICTIM by Oleg and Vladimir Presnyakov (Russia); LADIES AND GENTS by Paul Walker (Ireland); PSYCHOSIS 4.58, CRAVE and BLASTED by Sarah Kane (UK); THE COUNTRY by Martin Crimp (UK); SOME EXPLICIT POLAROIDS by Mark Ravenhill (UK); GRACE AND GLORY by Tom Ziegler (US); A BUSINESS WOMAN by José Enrique Gorlero (Argentina); and INTERIORS by Woody Allen (US). Pursuing the dialogue between the two cultures ?Mexican and American? so close to one another and yet so different, Por Piedad Teatro is committed to theatre of the highest quality, seeking to create a bridge of mutual collaboration, generating links at every level, joining forces with the most talented theatre professionals from both countries by opening lines of communication that allow for mutual understanding.
