Theater: It's 2019! Start the Year Right with Three Unmissable Shows
By Justine Bayod Espoz
arttimesjournal January 2, 2019
The first two weeks of January 2019 are an especially exciting time to be in New York City thanks to the now annual consortium of arts events known as JanArtsNYC. Industry events, such as the Association of Performing Arts Professionals' annual conference and the world music conference Wavelengths, bring arts professionals from around the world to the Big Apple, while festivals, such as the NYC Winter Jazz Fest and the PROTOTYPE opera and theatre festival, bring some of the best national and international talent.
Some of the best international artists and productions that I've seen over the past couple of years will be presented as part of JanArtsNYC's many events. I strongly recommend not missing the following performances:
 Abjeez and Ramy Essam |
January 3 , Ramy Essam, the singer-songwriter of the Egyptian Revolution, is back in NYC for a double bill concert at (le) Poisson Rouge organized by Artistic Freedom Initiative and featuring Iranian band ABJEEZ. Essam's protest songs filled the air in Tahrir Square during the revolution, making him a known political figure in the Egyptian people's revolt against Hosni Mubarak's dictatorial regime. His music and political involvement were captured on film as part of the Emmy-winning documentary The Square, and Essam has also been featured in the 60 Minutes follow-up coverage of the revolution.
I was introduced to Essam at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe, where he presented his autobiographical one-man-show Ramy - In the Frontline and which was covered in Art Times Journal . I subsequently saw him perform with his band at DROM in Manhattan last January. Essam is a vibrant performer and although his songs are in Arabic, it's not difficult to understand the emotion behind them, plus he always takes the time in between songs to explain what they are about.
For more information on the show and venue see lpr.com
January 11 - 13 , the joint British and Argentinian production MINEFIELD, written and directed by Lola Arias, runs as part of the Public Theater's Under the Radar festival. In this multimedia performance, actual British and Argentine veterans of the Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas War recount first-hand experiences from the war and life after. It's a collaborative work of historical, documentary and autobiographical theater that confronts the absurdity of war and forgotten, unseen human toll even after the fighting has stopped.
 Minefield photo by Lola Arias |
Although the production has toured widely since, I saw it at the 2017 Edinburgh International Festival in a black box theatre, the perfect setting for such intimate subject matter. In this intensely personal work, soldiers, not actors, tell and partially reenact personal memories, thoughts and feelings, including those of the contempt they felt for their enemies, those men, who in a twist of fate, became the people with whom they would create and perform this thought-provoking, moving work of art.
For more information regarding NYC performances, see publc theater.com
The Edinburgh International Festival was also responsible for my introduction to the scintillating Australian cabaret artist Meow Meow, first through her participation in Barry Humphries' production Weimar Cabaret in 2016, when she stole the show with her performance of Erwin Schulhoff's Sonata Erotica. Then again at the 2017 edition of the festival, when Meow Meow came back with her own production, an adult adaptation of The Little Mermaid.
 Meow Meow |
January 2 and 5 , Meow Meow performs at Joe's Pub as part of the Under the Radar festival. Meow Meow's shows are a combination of comedy, music and sexuality in true cabaret fashion. She's beautiful to look at with her black hair, high heels and leather and lace ensembles, but she's even more wonderful to listen to. Meow meow's voice is beguiling, and while she specializes in the Weimar repertoire and French chanson, she'll perform rock and pop covers that will stop your heart. She's a five-star artist who should never be missed.
For more information regarding NYC performances, see publc theater.com