'The Jos� Pliya Project' at the Ohio Theatre

Soho Think Tank presents The Jos� Pliya Project, 3 staged readings and a full production of his work Trapped, at Soho Theatre from the 1 - 6 Nov 2005 as part of Act French.

Playwright Jos� Pliya, a French citizen originally from Benin, West Africa, has received accolades abroad, but until now, his work had not been seen in NYC.

The Jos� Pliya Project will give New York audiences a rare opportunity to discover Jos� Pliya�s work. Over the course of a single week, Soho Think Tank will present three staged readings of as many plays and a re-mounting of the Paris production of Trappped (Le Complexe de Th�nardier), which premiered at the Lucernaire Theater in February of this year.

The Jos� Pliya Project plays as follows:

• Cannibals (Cannibales) � Staged Reading in English
  Cannibals is a conversation among three women who meet in a park. Gathered around a blue baby carriage, they discuss the loss of their children in circumstances real and imagined. The carriage itself is empty. Whose carriage is this, whose child? Who are these women, and why have they come together?
  Directed by Robert Lyons
  Tue 1 Nov 8pm
• We Were Sitting On The Shores Of The World (Nous �tions assis sur le rivage du monde) - Staged Reading in English
  A confrontation between a man and a woman on a beach: The woman, a native of the island, has come home for a visit and is waiting for friends who are late in arriving. A man appears, claiming ownership of the entire beach; he insists that she leave immediately. Despite her protestations, he sees her as a foreigner who has surrendered her right to enjoy the pleasures of her birthplace. Their conflict seems oddly inevitable and as inconclusive as it is divisive.
  Directed by Hal Brooks
  Wed 2 Nov 8pm
• An Ordinary Family (Une famille ordinaire) - Staged Reading in English
  An Ordinary Family examines the challenges of personal survival for two generations of an �ordinary� German family living under the Third Reich
  Directed by David Herskovits
  Sat 5 Nov 3pm
• Trapped (Le Complexe de Th�nardier) � Full production - Performed in French with English titles.
  In Trapped, the siege of their nameless homeland ignites a life-and-death struggle between a middle-class woman, the Mother, and Vido, a genocide survivor. Rescued from the streets and ostensibly loved like a daughter, Vido has nonetheless been forced into a life of service to show her gratitude. But now she loves a soldier who says the war is over and wants to take her away. Her mistress, desperate to keep her, says the danger is not past, that Vido is certain to be caught and killed. Panicked, she offers her son�s hand in marriage: anything to maintain her comfort and authority over this single person. Should Vido take her chance in the world beyond her doors, or re-submit to her captivity in the woman�s comfortable home?
  Directed by Vincent Colin and starring Sylvie Chenus and Hyam Zaytoun.
  Fri 4 Nov & Sat 5 Nov 8pm, Sun 6 Nov 3pm

  The cast and playwright will answer questions following each performance.