SPIRIT

by – Improbable

Performance – Guy Dartnell, Phelim McDermott, Lee Simpson
Direction – Julian Crouch and Arlene Audergon

Design Realization – Julian Crouch, Graeme Gilmour, Rob Thirtle, Helen McGuire
Lighting Design – Colin Grenfell
Sound Design – Andrew Paine
Production Management – Helen McGuire

Cast:
Guy Dartnell, Phelim McDermott, Lee Simpson

Order tickets:
Single tickets on sale now.
Call Telecharge.com at 212-239-6200 or 800-432-7250 or visit www.telecharge.com
Please call our box office at 212-460-5475 for additional information.
Our box office is open Tuesday - Saturday, 1:00pm-6:00pm.

Facility Address:
79 East 4th Street, located between Bowery and Second Avenue in the East Village.

Prices:
Single tickets, $55.00 each.

CheapTix Sundays, $20.00 (all tickets for all Sunday evening performances at 7:00pm; tickets must be purchased in person, in cash at the NYTW box office).

Description:
In Spirit, three performers struggle to tell the story of three bakers—brothers in a country at war content with their daily routine until one day when a letter arrives giving one the chance to break free. With quiet improvisation, headless puppets, fractured storytelling, and dark humor, Spirit is a teasing and sad joke about both personal and global cycles of conflict, that hints at how we might break out of them. The Independent on Sunday called Spirit, "A transcendent night…inspired and poignant."

Other Improbable productions seen in New York include 70 Hill Lane (seen at PS122), The Hanging Man (BAM), and Lifegame (Jane Street Theatre). The Observer (UK) said, "Improbable is one the brilliant faces of British Theatre." Improbable members Julian Crouch and Phelim McDermott co-created the international hit Shockheaded Peter which recently had an extended Off-Broadway run. In The New York Times, Ben Brantley called Shockheaded Peter, "The silliest, most sinister, and one of the smartest shows in town."

Dates:
First preview, Tuesday, September 13; opening night, Thursday, September 15; final performance, Sunday, October 9.
Performance schedule:
Tuesday at 7:00pm; Wednesday – Friday at 8:00pm; Saturday at 3:00pm and 8:00pm; Sunday at 2:00pm and 7:00pm.
Exceptions:
Thursday, September 15, special 7:00pm curtain (opening night)

AfterWords:
none scheduled

Running time:
approximately one hour and 20 minutes with no intermission

About the artists:
It was 1996 when Improbable (formerly known as Improbable Theatre) sort of muddled into being as Phelim McDermott, Julian Crouch, Lee Simpson and producer Nick Sweeting. Phelim, Julian and Lee had been working in theatre separately and together in various combinations for some years, and had successfully resisted the urge to formalize their relationship into a "theatre company". In the autumn of 1996 they gave in and formed Improbable. Since then, the eight shows they have made as Improbable, 70 Hill Lane, Animo, Lifegame, Cinderella, Coma, Spirit, Sticky and The Hanging Man have established an international reputation for innovative, exciting, accessible theatre. Improbable’s work has been seen in the UK, Egypt, Malaysia, Australia, Belgium, Germany, the USA, Greece, Canada, Lebanon, Ireland and Holland. 70 Hill Lane has won several major awards including an OBIE for Outstanding Achievement in Off Broadway Theatre, the 1997 Time Out Award for Best Off West End Production, Best Performance at The Cairo International Theatre for Experimental Theatre and The Manchester Evening News Award for Best Fringe Production. Improbable’s shows have grown out of a way of working that means being prepared to create work by the seat of your pants and the skin of your teeth, stepping onstage before you are ready and allowing the audience to have an integral part in the creation of a show.