The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston

The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (ICA) presents the Boston debut of news from nowhere, the theatre ensemble that produces the work of Tim Crouch, one of the most distinctive voices in British theatre today. Two different works will be presented, Nov. 13—15, 2009. Tickets can be purchased at www.icaboston.org or... by calling (617) 478-3103.

my arm – one show only
Performed by Tim Crouch
Saturday, Nov. 14, 8 p.m.

my arm is the award-winning story of a man who has lived for 30 years with one arm above his head. In that process he’s become a celebrated medical specimen and an icon of the New York art scene. His story is told through a combination of live performance, digital film, and the animation of everyday objects supplied by the audience before each performance. my arm is an extraordinary piece of theater about modern art, bloody-mindedness, and how the things we do when we’re 10 years old stick with us for life. my arm opened to universal acclaim at the Traverse Theatre during the Edinburgh Festival 2003. Since then it has toured the world, both independently and with the British Council.

“…utterly beguiling…Crouch uses the power of suggestion to create a gloriously improbable yet terribly believable piece about how the boy with his arm in the air transforms the world around him. A small gem.” - EVENING STANDARD

“… colossally powerful…Crouch tells his bleak story without ever losing sight of the aching pained humanity behind the tale – the wonderful final image of this show is so straightforwardly moving that it left many members of the audience, including me, close to tears.” — THE SCOTSMAN

Tickets: $20 reserved seating; $15 members, students, and seniors
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The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (ICA) presents the Boston debut of news from nowhere, the theatre ensemble that produces the work of Tim Crouch, one of the most distinctive voices in British theatre today. Two different works will be presented, Nov. 13—15, 2009. Tickets can be purchased at www.icaboston.org or... by calling (617) 478-3103.


ENGLAND
Performed by Tim Crouch and Hannah Ringham
Friday, Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 14—15, 2 p.m.

Conceived to be staged in contemporary art galleries, Tim Crouch’s third play, ENGLAND, features Crouch and Hannah Ringham playing one character—a cheerful narrator serving as a somewhat naïve tour guide who tells a tale that reveals some dark surprises. As the actor(s) address the audience — as guides within an exhibition — the narrative unfolds in reference to the art around them. The first half of the play will take place in one of the ICA’s galleries.

ENGLAND is the story of one thing placed inside another: a heart inside another person’s body, a culture inside another country’s culture, theater inside a gallery, a character inside an actor, a play inside its audience. The play contains searing observations about how people choose to value things most dear to them, exposing the stark contrasts between the boundless pursuit of health and happiness and the hidden cost of that pursuit.

ENGLAND continues Crouch’s fascination with the nature of the theatrical experience; the communication of an idea from performer to audience – and back again. ENGLAND is performed in thin air, within space, between people. At the same time, it is thoroughly entertaining, charming audiences as it gets to the very heart of matters of universal scope.

It is supported by a soundtrack by award-winning sound designer Dan Jones. The two actors are Tim Crouch and Hannah Ringham, a founder member of the Shunt Collective in London. ENGLAND is directed by Karl James and the artist a smith.

“A rich drama created with rigorous, poetic economy…belongs to that wonderful genre of thoughtful plays that could be discussed for hours without exhausting ideas.” – New York Times

“…like all Crouch’s shows, it burns with the desire to provoke as it explores not just the nature of theatre but the way we live now, in a world where commerce knows no borders.” — The Guardian

“Tim Crouch may not be a household name but he’s a peach of a theatre-maker: conceptual without being obscure; experimental without losing the plot, or indeed faith in the power of words to move you.” — Time Out

Tickets: $20 general admission; $15 members, students, and seniors (very limited seating). Note: the audience will be standing for half the piece.
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The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (ICA) presents Krzysztof Wodiczko in conversation with war veterans in what promises to be a thought-provoking talk providing context to Wodiczko’s ICA-commissioned video installation, …OUT OF HERE: The Veterans Project. The talk, on Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11 at 6:30 p.m., will be ...moderated by the ICA’s Director of Programs David Henry. Tickets are $15 general admission; $10 members, students and seniors, and can be purchased at www.icaboston.org or by calling (617) 478-3103. Free tickets are available first-come, first-served for veterans with military ID, in person only. Advance pick-up recommended. …OUT OF HERE: The Veterans Project will be open to all ticketholders from 5—6:30 p.m.

To create his new video installation for the ICA, Krzysztof Wodiczko consulted with veterans of the Iraq War, as well as with Iraqi civilians. As a surge of American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan returns to the United States this year, the artist and project participants will talk about their experience working on …OUT OF HERE: The Veterans Project as well as the relationship between art and conflict. Joining the conversation will be SPC Michael Anthony, Iraq War veteran and author of Mass Casualties: A Young Medic's True Story of Death, Deception, and Dishonor in Iraq; as well as veteran James O’Neill and Tala Khudairi, a native of Iraq based in Boston.

Both Krzysztof Wodiczko and Michael Anthony will be available after the talk to sign their books, which are on sale that evening in the ICA Store. Wodiczko’s new book, Guests, will not be released in the United States until January 2010, but is on sale now at the ICA Store.

About …OUT OF HERE: The Veterans Project
The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston presents a new large-scale video installation by Krzysztof Wodiczko focusing on the experience of war in Iraq. Based on the artist’s conversations with soldiers who have returned from Iraq as well as Iraqi civilians, the new work builds on their memories of the chaos and confusion of war. Since 1980, Wodiczko has created more than 80 projections of politically-charged images on civic buildings and monuments worldwide. He was selected to represent Poland at the 53rd Venice Biennale (2009) and was awarded the Hiroshima Art Prize (1999) for his contribution as an artist to world peace. ...OUT OF HERE: The Veterans Project is on view at the ICA from Nov. 4, 2009 through March 28, 2010.

About the ICA
An influential forum for multi-disciplinary arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art has been at the leading edge of art in Boston for more than 70 years. Like its iconic building on Boston's waterfront, the ICA offers new ways of engaging with the world around us. Its exhibitions and programs provide access to contemporary art, artists, and the creative process, inviting audiences of all ages and backgrounds to participate in the excitement of new art and ideas. The ICA, located at 100 Northern Avenue, is open Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Admission is $15 adults, $10 seniors and students, and free for members and children 17 and under. ICA Free Admission for Youth is sponsored by State Street Foundation. Free admission on Target Free Thursday Nights, 5 - 9 p.m. Free admission for families sponsored by Hood (2 adults + children 12 and under) on last Saturday of each month. For more information, call 617-478-3100 or visit our Web site at www.icaboston.org.
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