Theatre 167 presents the World Premiere of Antu Yacob's
Mourning Sun
Ethiopian-American Playwright's Provocative Drama Grapples with
Child Marriage and the Empowerment of Girls in Africa and the U.S.
November 6 – December 6 at the West End Theatre
Written by Antu Yacob and directed by Ari Laura Kreith, Theatre 167's Mourning Sun begins its World Premiere engagement on Friday, November 6 at the West End Theatre, located in the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew at 263 West 86th Street.
Show times are Thursdays at 7pm, Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 7pm. Members of the press are invited to all performances as of November 7, as well as rehearsals by pre arrangement. The official opening night is November 15.
Set in Ethiopia and New York, Mourning Sun is a remarkable love story that spans continents and cultures. At 14, Biftu and Abdi listen to American pop music and fantasize about meeting Michael Jackson. But when Biftu is forced into an arranged marriage, her body is broken and their dreams are destroyed. This explosive new play explores trauma and recovery, dislocation and identity, and the power of human connection to heal the deepest of wounds.
Culture Crave called Mourning Sun "an incredibly provocative and moving love story, heart wrenching and humorous" after a preview reading last month. The play celebrates the resilience of women and girls who endure brutal, crippling cultural traditions. Playwright Antu Yacob grew up in Ethiopia and the United States. After her sister, a medical student, volunteered at the fistula clinic in Addis Ababa, she began researching stories of child marriage, which impacts 15 million girls a year. Yacob says "I realized if I didn't have the mother I had, I could have been one of those girls. I wanted their voices to be heard."
The cast of Mourning Sun features Arlene Chico-Lugo*, Shamsuddin Abdul-Hamid, Charles Everett, Fadoua Hanine, Kevis Hillocks, John P. Keller* and Antu Yacob*. The production team includes Jen Price Fick (Set Design), Matthew Fick (Lighting Design), Jessa-Raye Court (Costume Design) and Anna Libbie Grossman (Sound Design). The Assistant Director is Bo Frazier, Fight Choreographer is Erica Gould, Choreographer is David Terry, and the Stage Manager is Ben Andersen*. Theatre 167 will also present a series of post-show conversations with experts from human rights and medical relief organizations. Speakers will be announced shortly.
An actress and playwright, Antu Yacob's plays include Love in Submission and The Firsts. She received her MFA in Acting from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. Her acting theatre credits include Stepping Out of the River at Dawn, A Jew on Ethiopia Street, Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New World, In the Continuum, Holiday Jubilee, Crowns, The House That Crack Built and No Longer. She is the founder of Shaggae's Song Performing Arts Collective, a nonprofit that develops stories focused on international women's issues as well as performing arts education for grades 4-12. www.antuyacob.com
Ari Laura Kreith, as Artistic Director of Theatre 167, conceived and directed The Jackson Heights Trilogy: 167 Tongues, You Are Now the Owner of This Suitcase, and Jackson Heights 3AM - three full-length collaboratively authored plays by 18 playwrights featuring 93 characters speaking 14 languages. They were produced individually in Queens, then in rotating repertory as a six-hour epic in Manhattan, and subsequently re imagined as an immersive installation for the Queens Museum. Her production of Pirira won the 2014 NY Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Premiere Production Of A Play and transferred to Off-Broadway. Other Theatre 167 projects include I Like to Be Here: Jackson Heights Revisited, Or, This is a Mango at the New Ohio Theatre, three short pieces for Queens Theatre's World's Fair Play Festival, and The Church of Why Not. Musical theatre highlights include Dreamhouse, which she also co-created, and the European premiere of Adam Guettel's Myths and Hymns. www.arilaurakreith.com.
Theatre 167 received the 2015 Caffe Cino Fellowship Award, presented by the NY Innovative Theatre Foundation to a company "that consistently produces outstanding work." They are a multilingual ensemble dedicated to creating imaginative, deeply collaborative plays that investigate cultural complexities and experiment with form and process to develop productions that celebrate a multitude of voices, explore our essential humanity, and build bridges between our diverse communities. Currently, Theatre 167 is one of the resident companies at the West End Theatre.
Mourning Sun runs Friday, November 6 through Sunday December 6 at the West End Theatre in the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew, 263 W. 86th Street (between Broadway and West End Avenue), on the 2nd floor. Subway Info: take the 1 train to 86th Street. Show times are Thursdays at 7pm, Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 7pm. Mourning Sun will run approximately two hours, including an intermission. The theatre is wheelchair-accessible.
Tickets are $18.00, $16.00 for students and seniors, and can be purchased online at theatre167.org, at artful.ly, or by calling (646) 568-5167. Follow the company on Twitter at @Theatre167, at Facebook.com/Theatre167, or on instagram @theatre167.
Mourning Sun is for intended for adult audiences only. The Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew is not responsible for any of its content.
* - These actors are appearing through the courtesy of Actors' Equity Association
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