POWDER KEG
** Civilization is only skin deep... **
November 7 - December 1 at The Flea

"Civil war at a one-on-one level is the abiding metaphor, violence the currency, and gallows humor the glue." -- Village Voice (on the film version)

Horizon Theatre Rep presents the official US Premiere of POWDER KEG by Macedonian playwright Dejan Dukovski. Performances of this translation by Philip Philipovich begin November 7th at The Flea Theatre with opening night set for November 10th. The production marks the directoral debut of acclaimed scenic designer Michelle Malavet (Where's My Money?, The Glory of Living ). POWDER KEG was adapted into an award-winning 1998 film titled Cabaret Balkan (distributed by Paramount Classics).

POWDER KEG is set 1995 in Belgrade. Law and order have broken down. On this night, old scores will be settled, punishment meted out, and lives irrevocably changed. Violence is no longer a regrettable tool; it is a pleasure. The play begins with two men sitting and calmly talking. One describes how he was brutally attacked. He sketches out the assault in ever more shocking detail, describing how he was hit with a hammer and a wrench. Finally, the other nods sympathetically. "I know who did it," he says, "I did."

This scene begins a progression of 10 situations in which an outburst of aggression is passed La Ronde-style from person to person, scene to scene. Blurring the line between victim and perpetrator, POWDER KEG is about violence disrupting the comfortable normalcy of everyday life, destroying human relationships without regard to logic. It is a potent metaphor for the endless circle of conflict in the world today.

The production stars Rafael De Mussa, Jace McLean, James Nardella, Stacy Rock, and Randy Ryan with sets by Michelle Malavet, lighting by Peter Ksander, costumes by Jessica Gaffney and sound by Javier Berzal.

Often compared to Sarah Kane and Mark Ravenhill, Dejan Dukovski (born in 1969) is one of the leading figures in Macedonian postmodern drama. He is best known for Powder Keg (1994) which has been translated and produced in English, German, Polish, Serbian, Croatian, Dutch, Swedish, Hungarian, Russian, and Japanese. Other plays include The Last Balkan Vampire (1991), Balkan is not Dead (1992) and Who the fuck started all this? (1997). He is also the author of the screenplays Light Grey and Cabaret Balkan (winner of the 1998 Vienna Critics’ Award, the Bronze Camera 300 Award in Macedonia, and the Grand Prix at the International Film Festival in Haifa,Israel).

Horizon Theatre Rep (HTR), now in its fifth year, is committed to innovative staging of contemporary and classical work. Past productions include the US Premiere of In the Solitude of Cotton Fields, 3XPirandello and Jean Paul Sartre’s Men Without Shadows, seen at The Flea last April. For more info visit www.HTRonline.org

POWDER KEG runs Nov 7 - Dec 1, Friday & Saturday at 10:00pm and Sunday & Monday at 7:00pm. There will be a special matinee Sunday, Nov 9 at 2:00pm in lieu of the evening performance. The Flea Theater is located at 41 White Street (3 blocks south of Canal, between Church & Broadway -- accessible from the N/R at Canal Street). Tickets are $15 and may purchased by calling 212-868-4444 or online at smarttix.com.