Brodsky/Baryshnikov
January 24 to 28, 2018
Based on the poems of Joseph Brodsky
Directed by Alvis Hermanis | Performed by Mikhail Baryshnikov
Making its anticipated Canadian premiere, Brodsky/Baryshnikov is a one-man theatrical performance – by Mikhail Baryshnikov – that gives voice and verse to the poetry of Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky. Conceived and directed by Alvis Hermanis – noted Latvian director of The New Riga Theatre – Brodsky/Baryshnikov is a synthesis of word and action, an emotional journey deep into the poet’s visceral and complex compositions. Performed in Russian – Brodsky's mother tongue – Baryshnikov recites a selection of his long-time friend’s poignant and eloquent works. His subtle physicality transports the audience into Hermanis’ reverential imagining of Brodsky’s interior world. An intimate conversation, both meditative and contemplative, between two exiled artists that transcends mortality, the imagery of Brodsky/Baryshnikov is darkly radiant. While neither a dance piece nor a straight narrative, Baryshnikov gives life to Brodsky's hypnotic verse and invites the viewer into the physical world that his poems elicit.
Performed in Russian with English surtitles
Performance schedule
Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at 8 p.m.
Thursday, January 25, 2018 at 8 p.m.
Friday, January 26, 2018 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, January 27, 2018 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, January 28, 2018 at 3 p.m.
“Even when he’s not dancing, Baryshnikov steals the show.” – Observer
“Hypnotic melancholia.” – Financial Times
“[Baryshnikov] is arguably most entrancing, and most deeply immersed in the language, when he is simply sitting on a bench outside the gazebo, rocking slowly back and forth as he recites. It’s as if the language is a current of energy activating not just his mind but his entire body; you sense that he feels its presence inside him down to his fingertips.” – New York Times
For more information, call Ticketmaster at 1-855-622-ARTS (2787) or visit www.ticketmaster.ca, or buy them at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre box office (Tuesday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., or until show time on performance days; closed Sunday and Monday).
in association with
Location:
Winter Garden Theatre
189 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario