Dirt April 2, 2008

DIRT, CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED AT THE 2007 NY INTERNATIONAL FRINGE FESTIVAL,
TO ENJOY NYC REVIVAL BEGINNING APRIL 2

EUROPEAN AWARD-WINNING SOLO PLAY ABOUT RACISM TO STAR CHRISTOPHER DOMIG,
WINNER OF THE 2007 FRINGE NYC OUTSTANDING ACTOR AWARD

Dreck Productions and the Austrian Cultural Forum are proud to present a NYC revival of Dirt, the European award-winning one-man show written by Robert Schneider, which went on to become a critically acclaimed production at the 2007 NY International Fringe Festival. Dirt is directed by David Robinson and performed by Christopher Domig. In a review of Dirt at last year’s NY Fringe Fest Adam Feldman of TimeOut NY dubbed his performance “Riveting” and gave the play 4 stars, Back Stage marked it a “PICK” saying “Dirt is painful but powerful theatre” and NYTheatre.com declared “Dirt is a remarkable piece of theatre—deep, emotional, and thought-provoking.”

Performances run Wednesdays-Saturdays at 8pm. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students with valid ID and can be purchased online at http://www.SmartTix.com or by calling 212-868-4444. Running time is 75 minutes.

Dirt was the most frequently performed solo show in Austria, Germany and Switzerland in the 1990’s. The influential German theatre magazine Theaterheute awarded Robert Schneider Best New Playwright Of The Year (1993) for Dirt. The play centers on Sad, a desperately alienated illegal immigrant from Iraq, who confronts xenophobia, latent racism and ethnocentrism as he sells roses on the streets to make ends meet. He is charming, cynical, humorous, violent and sad. Although he loves the English language and American culture he misses his homeland. As Sad continues to talk it becomes increasingly clear that he has a love-hate relationship with himself, his heritage and the western world he currently lives in. Haunting and compelling, Dirt is a telling story about racism and the havoc it wreaks upon the human soul. The play will be performed this August in Scotland as part of the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe.

Dirt (“Dreck”), written by Austrian playwright and novelist Robert Schneider, premiered in 1992 in Vienna, where it was performed in German, its original language. In 1993, Dirt premiered in Hamburg, Germany at the Thalia Theater and was awarded the Dramatist’s Prize at the “Potsdam Theater Days”, selected by the jury as the “best contemporary stage work.” Schneider’s first novel Schlafes Bruder (“Brother of Sleep”) was published in 1992 and immediately became a worldwide success, with translations into 24 languages. He received numerous awards including the Premio Grinzane Cavour (the most important literary prize in Italy for foreign-language literature) and the Prix Médicis (Paris, France).

Austrian/American actor Christopher Domig grew up in Salzburg, Austria. His credits include The Winter’s Tale at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and a national tour of Great Expectations. Domig received an MFA from SMU.

Director David Robinson is based in Seattle. His credits include God’s Country (Greer Garson Theatre) and Coriolanus (Greenstage). David has served as Artistic Director of The Dimensions Theatre Project and General Manager of The Seattle Shakespeare Company.

Dirt is translated by Paul Dvorak, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who teaches German language, literature and culture. The design/production team consists of Greg Brostrom (Lighting & Sound Design), Rebecka Domig (Costume Design), Gabriel Garza (Set Design), Kate Neff (Stage Manager) and Daniel Domig (Marketing).

Trains: 6 to Astor Place or R,W to 8th St.

Official Website: http://www.dirt-nyc.com