March is also devoted to a new play in the Roda Theatre. Well before the digital age, the camera selected, filtered, and obscured the truth - even as it promised to provide an authentic look at distant lands. Naomi Iizuka explores the intersection of art and authenticity in a haunting play commissioned by Berkeley Rep: Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West. In this world premiere, wealthy Americans invade Yokohama in the 1880s with a weird new technology. Their cameras capture images of geishas, monks, and shrines and send them to the future in a flash - where we continue to seek meaning through lenses of exoticism and xenophobia. Berkeley Rep presented the world premiere of Iizuka's 36 Views before it played off Broadway. Her work has also been seen at major theatres in Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Portland, San Diego, and Seattle. Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West takes its title from the first treatise on photography translated into Japanese. It will be staged by Les Waters, whose shows have ranked among the 10 best plays of 2007 in Time, 2006 in the New York Times, and 2005 in Time Out New York. Follow an insatiable appetite for intrigue through three centuries in this intricate new show, which begins previews on February 26 and runs through April 11.
See tomorrow's plays today at Berkeley Rep. Subscribe now for the 2009/10 Season, which includes five other fascinating new shows: the world premiere of Girlfriend from Todd Almond and Matthew Sweet, the world premiere of a new play from Lisa Kron and Leigh Silverman, the West Coast premiere of Tiny Kushner from Tony Kushner and Tony Taccone, and local debuts for Athol Fugard's Coming Home and Aurélia's Oratorio. Inviting new prices ensure that everyone can join the fun. For details, call (510) 647-2949 or toll-free at (888) 4-BRT-Tix - or simply click berkeleyrep.org.
