We are proud to co-produce and present the world premiere of the first dramatization of one of the most powerful stories of the Holocaust, Norman Manea’s thought-provoking and utterly timely literary masterpiece, "The Hooligan's Return". Adapted for the stage with her usual dramatic flair by Saviana Stănescu and directed with consummate skill by Edward Einhorn, this theatrical workshop, still a work in progress, offers audiences the first ever dramatic take on the consequential Romanian-American author’s exploration of identity, exile, memory, and the scars left by history. The production weaves together Manea’s reflections, as relevant now as ever, on his experiences as a child deported to a Nazi labor camp, his fraught relationship with his homeland under Communist rule, and the broader challenges of reconciling past and present in a world shaped by trauma. The premiere is dedicated to the Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The Hooligan's Return
Written by: Norman Manea
Adapted for stage by: Saviana Stănescu
Directed by: Edward Einhorn
Artistic consultant: John Clinton Eisner
Cast: Vas Eli, Grant Neale, Alyssa Simon, Katarina Vizina, Max Wolkowitz, Maxwell Zener, Yelena Shmulenson
Duration: 1h 15min
Language: English
Free entry, RSVP required (seats will be allocated on a first come, first served basis).
NORMAN MANEA, prolific writer, public intellectual and mentor, is one the most celebrated Romanian authors of the past decades and an indispensable moral compass in a world going astray. His large body of work has been translated in all corners of the world to great acclaim. He is Francis Flournoy Professor Emeritus in European Studies and Culture and Distinguished Writer in Residence at Bard College, New York and the author of a long series of novels, volumes of short fiction, and essays. Originally written in Romanian and published in 30 languages, the following titles are also available in English: "October Eight O’Clock" (short fiction, 1992), "On Clowns: The Dictator and the Artist" (essays, 1992), "Compulsory Happiness" (novellas, 1993), "The Black Envelope" (novel, 1995), "The Lair" (novel, 2012), "The Fifth Impossibility" (essays, 2012), "The Hooligan’s Return" (novel, 2003; 2nd edition, 2013), "Settling My Accounts Before I Go Away. An Interview with Saul Bellow" (2013), "Paradise Found: An Interview with Hannes Stein" (2013), "Captives" (2015). Norman Manea was granted, among others, The Guggenheim Fellowship (1992), The McArthur Fellowship (1993), The National Jewish Book Award (1993), The New York Public Library Literary Lion Medal (1993), The Nonino International Prize for "Opera Omnia" (2002), Napoli Prize for Fiction (2004), Prix Médicis Étranger (2006), Nelly Sachs Prize (2011), The National Prize for Literature awarded by the Romanian Writers’ Union (2012), and the FIL Grand Prize for Literature in Romance Languages (2016). He is a member of Berlin Academy of Art (Germany, 2006), a honorary member of The Royal Society of Literature (United Kingdom, 2011), and was awarded the title Commandeur dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France, 2009), the Romanian "Cultural Merit" Order in the rank of Commander (2006), and the National Order "Star of Romania" in the rank of Grand Officer (2016).
SAVIANA STĂNESCU is an award-winning Romanian-American playwright, poet, and ARTivist based in New York, author of "Aliens with Extraordinary Skills", "Ants", "Lenin’s Shoe", "Hurt", "Useless", "Toys" and many other plays centering the immigrant experience. Winner of New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Play (for "Waxing West") and the UNITER Award for Best Romanian Play of the Year (for "Inflatable Apocalypse"), Saviana has published over 15 books of plays and poetry, written in English and Romanian, translated and produced around the world.
EDWARD EINHORN is a director, playwright, translator, librettist and novelist. His projects have been presented in New York in prestigious theatrical venues such as La MaMa, 3LD Art & Technology Center, HERE Arts Center, The New Ohio, St. Ann's Warehouse, Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center, and Bohemian National Hall. In London, his productions have been presented in the Off-West End section at the Jermyn Street Theatre, Peckham Asylum Chapel, Wigmore Hall and Milton Court at the Barbican. He has also participated in the Havel Festival (where he directed the complete operas of Václav Havel, in Havel's presence); and the Ionesco Festival (directing some of Eugène Ionesco's operas). He is currently artistic director of the international Rehearsal for Truth Festival, coordinated by the Václav Havel Center and the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association.
