"In Pursuit of the English: Rose"

Reviews from July 2010 Capital Fringe Festival Shows

2008-08-14T01:36:00.001-04:00

http://2reprises.blogspot.com/2010/05/reviews-from-july-2010-capital-fringe.html

LESSING AWARDED NOBEL

2007-10-11T14:04:00.005-04:00

"ROYAL FLUSH!"
"Epicist of the female experience, with scepticism, fire and visionary power, has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny."
"The icing on the cake."
CLICK HERE for VIDEO, AUDIO, & MORE about Lessing's Nobel win

PHOTOS

2006-07-22T13:24:00.000-04:00

Hilary Kacser as Rose in In Pursuit of the English: Rose

VIDEO: CLICK HERE!

MORE PHOTOS: CLICK HERE!

(Excellent quality, high resolution photos by John Aaron and Tom Kochel can be emailed on request. 22 June 2006)

International Doris Lessing Conference invites "In Pursuit of the English: Rose" to make European Premiere July 2007!

2006-05-01T06:00:00.002-04:00

Check these great links:
http://www.leedsmet.ac.uk/as/cs/
18322AAE8D894DE8B1D23A4AD02B8527.htm

http://www.leedsmet.ac.uk/as/cs/
9B5AF73B535945F58B695E62007806C7.htm

and at
http://www.leedsmet.ac.uk/the_news/
images/index.htm
("Images of Leeds Met") and
under "August 2007" (oddly enough)
click on "Doris Lessing Conference - 06/07/07"
to view photos # 11, 12, & 13.

SOLD-OUT SHOW PLAYS LEEDS!

SOLO PLAY of DORIS LESSING MEMOIR
INVITED TO PREMIERE EUROPE in LEEDS, ENGLAND.

"In Pursuit of the English: Rose" has been invited to make its European Premiere at the Second International Doris Lessing Conference being held at Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, England, 6-8 July 2007.

One of the UK’s best-known novelists, Doris Lessing is the focus of the International Doris Lessing Conference at Leeds Metropolitan University, 6-8 July. Her memoir, originally titled “In Pursuit of the English," now a one-woman play, uses humor and love of humanity to explore themes of survival in the face of disaster that are relevant today.

Sponsored by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, “In Pursuit of the English: Rose,” is the only dramatization of Lessing to be so honored with being presented as part of the conference.

Conference organizer Dr. Alice Ridout, said,

“your fascinating work … made for an excellent event that was both alternative to the usual endless conference papers and extremely relevant to those conference papers.”

WHEN: Friday, 6 July, 2007, 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
WHERE: Second International Doris Lessing Conference, School of Cultural Studies, Leeds Metropolitan University, Civic Quarter, Leeds LS1 3HE, UK, Tel: 011 (44) 0113 283 5931

(posted 21 August 2007)

Audio & Video ( ...more to come... 1 June 2007)

2006-04-30T02:24:00.000-04:00

VIDEO EXTRACT
In Pursuit of the English: Rose
CLICK "PLAY" ARROW BELOW

(AUDIO TRACKS are
BELOW VIDEO SCREEN)

AUDIO
Hear a three minute audio excerpt from and clip about In Pursuit of the English: Rose! Click the "play" button (bottom left hand corner) on the Gabcast player below. (Volume control is on bottom right hand corner of player.)

MORE audio and video about
In Pursuit of the English: Rose will
soon be available here. Please check back!

The above audio excerpt from and clip about
In Pursuit of the English: Rose, was produced by
the good folks at:

DC THEATRE REVIEWS.com
News . Reviews . Interviews . Podcasts
www.dctheatrereviews.com

Media Coverage

2006-04-20T00:11:00.000-04:00

SEE THE HILL RAG CALENDAR PAGE ON THE CORNER STORE THEATER FEST SHOWS, SEPTMEBER 2007! (3 Spetember 2007)

Three Media pieces on the CapFringe06 shows are currently posted here; more to come! (4 May 2007)

*** Click this link to see and hear Andrew Baroch's 2 August 2006 Voice of America story about this show and the Capital Fringe Festival, "Theater on the Fringe Visits D.C.."

*** Only F.W. Thomas, and Nothing More
By Rachel Beckman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 15, 2006; C05
Another Bit of History
Local actress Hilary Kacser also channels history in her new one-woman show, "In Pursuit of the English Rose." Her show is about a woman named Rose who lives in post-World War II London. She based her character on Doris Lessing's 1960 book "In Pursuit of the English," and stories she heard her mother and grandmother tell about living in postwar England.
Rose survives by keeping her wry sense of humor intact -- something Kacser said is relevant in today's political climate.
"To say, 'I wish the war was back,' there's something incongruous about that," she said. "But also a little twisted and comical."
Kacser's 20-minute show is part of the Doris Lessing Tribute, and will feature a discussion led by a member of the Doris Lessing Society, which celebrates the English writer whose work includes science fiction, memoir, novels and essays. Kacser will also perform her show as part of the Capital Fringe Festival next month.
A first-generation American, she grew up hearing her mother lament the rationing that persisted after the war. "My mother loves oranges, and for many years after the end of World War II, you were lucky if you could have one orange a year," she said. "And your orange was at the toe of your Christmas stocking."
In Pursuit of the English Rose will be performed June 26 at 6 p.m. at Busboys and Poets, 2021 14th St. NW. Free. 202-387-7638.
© 2006 The Washington Post Company
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/14/AR2006061402253_pf.html

*** Wonderful review on DCTheatreScene.com!
Please click the link below to read Tim Treanor's lovely plug!
[For some reason it won't highlight like the other links, but it is one.]

http://dctheatrescene.com/2006/07/23/first-rate-second-hand-rose-fringe-snips/

GRANTS

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We are very grateful to have been awarded the following in support of this work.

(1) "In Pursuit of the English: Rose" is funded in part by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Arts. The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities generously awarded In Pursuit of the English Rose two Small Project Program Grants. One of these was in support of the play's premiere at the 2006 inaugural Capital Fringe Festival; the other was in support of the play's presentation at the International Doris Lessing Conference in England, July, 2007.

(2) The Humanities Council of Washington, DC generously awarded our sponsoring organization, City Arts, Inc. (www.cityartsdc.org), a Small Grant to present a Special Event at Busboys and Poets (www.busboysandpoets.com) on Monday, June 26, 2006, at 6PM. This tribute to Doris Lessing "Doris Lessing, In Pursuit of the English, and Society's Center Marginalized," includes a discussion, dramatization, and audience participation. This event has been made possible with gracious assistance from DC Arts Center (www.DCArtsCenter.org), and is presented free of admission charge.

Kudos to the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities for all the great support and guidance from the Small Project Program Grant Administrator!

Contact Information

2006-04-10T23:27:00.006-04:00

Please email:

postwarrose@hotmail.com

to obtain tickets, ask questions, or be added to our email list.

Please click Box Office to purchase tickets.

Phone: The Old Phone Number is NO LONGER OPERATIONAL.
(301-830-5951 is OUT OF SERVICE.)
If we get a new number we will post it here.

(23 February 2008)

The Play

2006-04-10T22:50:00.000-04:00

Based on Doris Lessing's memoir, In Pursuit of the English ... a world-premiere one-woman portrayal of post-war London life, aching with heartbreak and laughter, amid the bombsites left by the blitz ... charming characterization, resonates with war-torn, post-apocalyptic timeliness, while retaining its wry British sense of humor ... the compelling, bittersweet story of Rose, a witty young cockney woman, comes to life at the inaugural Capital Fringe Festival, Penn Quarter, Washington, DC, in the Warehouse Theatre, July 20-30, 2006.
Hilary Kacser, the actor and creator of the play, is first-generation American, and her mother grew up in the London blitz. Based on In Pursuit of the English, Doris Lessing's post-war tragicomedy: "A shrewd, unsentimental picture of Londoners, the real English; swift, barbed style," (Amazon.com), "Eloquent...Wry, ribald...tartly humorous style," (New York Times), "staggering penetration of the ordinary working-class Londoner's nature," (Washington Post).

OUR OTHER PRODUCTIONS

2006-04-09T15:35:00.007-04:00

July & October 2011:
CRY for the GODS -- Will the Queen of Hawaii's legacy survive her government's overthrow?
http://CryForTheGods.blogspot.com
Ua mau ke ea o ka'āina i ka ponow --
The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.

JULY 2010:
2 Reprises: "In PURSUIT of the ENGLISH" / "DISORDr"
http://2reprises.blogspot.com/

JULY 2009:
" 2 shows: 'DISORDER' & 'PLANT PSYCHIC' "
http://www.myspace.com/2showsdisorderplantpsychic
(geocities.com/DisorderThePlay/ no longer exists)

July & December 2008:
"TALES OF DOOMED LOVE (or is it ever worth it?)"
myspace.com/talesofdoomedlove
Limited Return Engagement December 12-14 and 19-21, 2008
Written by Andrea Stolowitz, Directed by Jessica Lefkow, Produced and Performed by Hilary Kacser, Featuring Dave ("DCLugi.tv") Coyne

July & November 2007:
"LOVE & WAR: the Bard's Women" -- 2007
http://postwarrose.blogspot.com/2007/05/new-show-please-visit-love-war.html

ROSE RETURNS NOVEMBER 2010 -- One Show in Silver Spring, Maryland

2006-04-09T00:46:00.000-04:00

One show only, Washington Revels has kindly offered their Rehearsal/Performance Space for a November 2010 performance of

2 Shows:
"In PURSUIT of the ENGLISH" / "DISORDEr"

The performance will be

SATURDAY NIGHT

6 NOVEMBER 2010

8 p.m.

Washington Revels is located at
531 Dale Drive
Silver Spring, MD 20910.

Please click here for
IMPORTANT PARKING AND LOCATION
details:
http://mim.io/d7986
or
email for information to:

HilaryK.actor@gmail.com

ROSE TO RETURN JULY 2010

2006-04-08T06:31:00.000-04:00

Coming July 2010:

2 Reprises:
"In PURSUIT of the ENGLISH" / "DISORDEr"

to the 5th Anniversary Capital Fringe Festival

PRESS RELEASE (April 27, 2010)
https://docs.google.com/View?id=dhmdkhfk_24gj3qdjdr

WHEN: Saturday, July 10, 2010, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Thursday, July 15, 2010, 7:30 pm – 9:30 p.m.
Friday, July 23, 2010, 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 24, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

WHERE: Goethe Institut – Mainstage,
812 7th Street NW, Washington, DC, 20001.
Corner of 7th and I (Eye) Streets NW, 202-289-1200.
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown.
http://www.goethe.de/ins/us/was/enindex.htm

TICKETS: $15, plus One Time $5 All-Festival Button.
(REGRETTABLE CORRECTION: Purchase of $5 Fringe Button, in fact, newly this year, IS REQUIRED for seniors.
Purchase of $5 Fringe Button is NOT required for those UNDER 12 YEARS OLD.)
Capital Fringe Festival Box Office: (866) 811-4111, 607 New York Ave., NW, WDC 20001. www.capitalfringe.org

Phone Sales Now Open!
Capital Fringe Festival Box Office: (866) 811-4111
(Phones Open Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. and
Saturday - Sunday, 10 a.m. -6 p.m.)

Tickets Online Now.
www.capitalfringe.org

Fringe Box Office In-Person Sales Open
Tuesday, July 6, 2010.
Fort Fringe & Baldacchino Gypsy Tent Bar
(Festival Headquarters)
607 New York Ave., NW, WDC 20001
(Box Office Open July 6 - 7: Noon - 6 p.m.
July 8 - 25: Tuesday - Thursday, Noon - 11 p.m. and
Friday - Sunday, 10 a.m. - 11 p.m.

A workshop of "DISORDEr" was presented in 2009.
DisorderThePlay.blogspot.com

Also visit OUR ADDITIONAL PRODUCTIONS.

"In Pursuit of the English: Rose" plays Corner Store Theater Fest September 2007

2006-04-07T17:06:00.000-04:00

Two Performances Only!
Friday, 7 September, 2007, at 8 PM

Sunday, 9 September, 2007, at 2 PM
(REVISED dates posted 4 August 2007)
READ MORE about this exciting opportunity to see Hilary Kacser reprise In Pursuit of the English: Rose
following her acclaimed performance at the International Doris Lessing Conference.
Also playing: "Love & War: the Bard's Women"
(follow link above)

LOVE & WAR: New 2007 Show

2006-04-01T11:19:00.010-05:00

LOVE & WAR Upcoming Shows

We are delighted to announce that LOVE & WAR has been invited to return December 6-16, 2007, performing at the Greenbelt Arts Center , Greenbelt, MD.

SHOW TIMES & DATES

Thursday, December 6, 8 PM
Friday, December 7, 8 PM
Sat, Dec. 8, 5 PM and 8 PM
Sun December 9, 7 PM

Thurs Dec. 13, 8 PM
Friday Dec 14, 8 PM
Saturday Dec 15, 5 PM and 8 PM
Sunday, Dec 16, 2 PM

Greenbelt Arts Center is located in Old Greenbelt, just outside the Capital Beltway, 1st exit off 295 (BW Pkwy), take 193 WEST, to: 123 Centerway, Greenbelt, MD, 20770. Tickets: $10 General Public, $8 Students & Seniors.

Please check back for more updated information.

(posted October 11, 2007)

LOVE & WAR: with the Bard's Broads & Dames
(now retitled "LOVE & WAR: the Bard's Women" for the) September 2007 Capitol Hill Theater Fest at The Corner Store! Click below to read more:
http://loveandwarbardswomen.multiply.com

Video, Audio, More about Nobel Win

2006-03-24T16:52:00.019-05:00

--------
VIDEO:
--------
Channel 4 report (UK)
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/
arts_entertainment/
visionary+lessings+nobel+prize/908357

BBC TV report (high speed), with mention of Zimbabwe
http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/
newsid_7040000/newsid_7040200/
7040215.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm&asb=1&news=1&bbcws=1

Doris learns the news
http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/
play?vid=1296764944&vw=g&b=0&pos=1&p=
Lessing+Nobel+video

--------
AUDIO:
--------
AUDIO -- NewsHour (realAudio)
http://media.pbs.org/ramgen/newshour/
expansion/2007/10/11/20071011_nobel28.rm?
altplay=20071011_nobel28.rm
AUDIO -- NewsHour
http://www-tc.pbs.org/newshour/
rss/media/2007/10/11/20071011_nobel28.mp3

--------
MORE:
--------
("AFP is the world's oldest established news agency, founded in 1835 by Charles-Louis Havas, the father of global journalism.")
http://afp.google.com/article/
ALeqM5iALsMHzAigBW3T0umQl9i32Q5ShA

(The Guardian: "Those who accuse the Nobel prize committee of making 'politicised' decisions have got it back to front. For authors outside the Anglo-American tradition, a writer's ideas are as important as their prose style.")
http://books.guardian.co.uk/comment/
story/0,,2189004,00.html

(The Beeb)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
1/hi/entertainment/7039100.stm

Special Event! Doris Lessing Tribute, Monday, June 26, 2006, 6PM

2006-02-27T17:10:00.000-05:00

"Doris Lessing, In Pursuit of the English, and Society's Center Marginalized," will take place on the stage of Busboys & Poets (www.busboysandpoets.com), the progressive bookstore and restaurant. A dramatization from In Pursuit of the English will be presented, with a discussion by scholar and Doris Lessing Studies Editor Dr. Linda Weinhouse and an opportunity for questions from the audience. This event is sponsored by a grant from the Humanities Council of Washington, DC, with generous support from City Arts, Inc. (www.cityartsdc.org), and DCAC (www.DCArtsCenter.org), and is presented free of admission charge.

Capital Fringe Festival

2006-02-26T23:11:00.000-05:00

In Pursuit of the English: Rose comes to life at the inaugural Capital Fringe Festival, an exciting new annual event taking place in the downtown Penn Quarter and elsewhere in Washington, DC, July 20-30, 2006.

For more information about the 2006 inaugural Capital Fringe Festival production of In Pursuit of the English: Rose, see:

A Few Fringe Tidbits, Posted Tuesday 8 August July 2006

2006-02-26T21:44:00.000-05:00

1--Thanks to all who atteneded and made the last three of our fives shows SOLD OUT SHOWS!

2--Wonderful review on DCTheatreReviews.com!
Please go to http://dctheatrereviews.com/review/2006/07/23/first-rate-second-hand-rose-fringe-snips/#more-280
to read Tim Treanor's lovely plug!

3--Sell Outs!
We have 40 seats in all per show, and people sadly have been turned away. Get your tickets early!

Thank you,
~~Hilary
(301)830-5951

4--Showtimes: Just to let you know, as City Paper's Trey Graham says in his blog:
"Capital Fringe has a strict no-late-seating policy, so consider yourself warned."
This is true!
Bill in the box office (whom Trey's blog aptly describes as: "always unflappable and eager to help") tells me he had to turn a few latecomers away from In Pursuit of the English Rose !
:-(

5--Your reviews! You can post your reviews of In Pursuit of the English Rose on Trey's blog, on The Washington Post, and on DC Theatre Reveiws.com.

If you enjoyed this show, please post your positive comments!

Post to City Paper's "Fringe and Purge" blog (isn't that just too City Paper cute?) to:
fringe@washingtoncitypaper.com

Mr Graham requests you limit your comments to 150 words, please, and writes:
"I'll post the best ones here -- and award Washington City Paper T-shirts (in which everyone, without exception, looks irresistibly sexy) to the authors of reviewlets I particularly like."

More information will appear here (with updated heading) about posting to The Washington Post; you can try posting to the wonderful folks at
DCTheatreReviews.com
although I had trouble linking to their blog when I tried today.

Thank you all for your support!
~~Hilary

7 & 9 September 2007 In Pursuit of the English: Rose at the Corner Store Theater Fest, Eastern Market, Capitol Hill, Washington, DC

2006-02-26T04:28:00.000-05:00

Two Performances Only!

Friday, 7 September, 2007, 8 PM

Sunday, 9 September, 2007, 2 PM

(see below for Love & War: the Bard's Women)

The Corner Store, a charming community gallery and arts center, is located at 900 South Carolina Ave, SE, Washington, DC, 20003, right on the corner of 9th and South Carolina Ave, SE, one block from Capitol Hill's historic Eastern Market and the Eastern Market Metro. The box office entrance is on Ninth Street, SE.

TICKETS

Please EMAIL US: PostWarRose@hotmail.com
TELEPHONE US: (301) 830-5951
or contact the Corner Store: (202) 544-5807 or swantelier@aol.com

Further information can be found on the following webpage.
(posted Thursday, August 30, 2007)

http://web.mac.com/kswanson1/iWeb/Site/EventsCalendar.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ALSO AT THEATER FEST, BY POPULAR DEMAND:

a Reprise Performance of 2007 CapFringe's

LOVE & WAR: the Bard's Women!

Photo of LOVE & WAR:

[with Hilary Kacser as Volumnia, one of] the Bard's Women

By Tom Kochel

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SEE THE HILL RAG CALENDAR PAGES ON THESE SHOWS! (3 Spetember 2007)

Showtimes & Dates

2006-02-25T13:00:00.000-05:00

CAPITAL FRINGE FESTIVAL PERFORMANCES, at Warehouse Theater Screening Room:

Friday, July 21, 2006, 6:00pm - 7:00pm

Saturday, July 22, 2006, 12:00pm - 1:00pm

Sunday, July 23, 2006, 4:00pm - 5:00pm

Thursday, July 27, 2006, 6:15pm - 7:15pm

Friday, July 28, 2006, 8:30pm - 9:30pm

Special Event

Monday, June 26, 2006, 6pm Busboys and Poets "Doris Lessing, In Pursuit of the English, and Society's Center Marginalized" -- This tribute to Doris Lessing, with discussion, dramatization, and audience participation, is presented free of admission charge.

Locations

2006-02-24T23:00:00.000-05:00

July 21-28, 2006, performances at Capital Fringe Festival located at:
Warehouse Theater Screening Room, 1021 7th Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20001, 202-783-3933.
The Warehouse is across Seventh Street from the new Convention Center, on the block between Mount Vernon Square (where Massachusetts & New York Avenues cross) and "L" Street NW (slightly closer to "L" than to New York Avenue). This is around the corner from the AV Restaurant, and just a block south from the Mount Vernon Square Metro Station on the Green and Yellow Line (or 4 blocks north of Chinatown Metro Station on the Red, Green, and Yellow Lines). Please click www.warehousetheater.com/directions.php for further directions, or MapQuest.

June 26, 2006, Doris Lessing tribute performance located at: Busboys & Poets (www.busboysandpoets.com), 2021 14th Street NW, Washington, DC, 20009, 202-387-POET (202-387-7638).

Tickets

2006-02-23T00:27:00.000-05:00

Individual Tickets go on sale on July 10, 2006.
For more information, please visit www.CapFringe.org or www.TheaterMania.com,
or CALL
1-866-811-4111 starting July 10.

Tickets can be purchased up to 2 hours before showtime ONLINE, BY PHONE, and at the FESTIVAL BOX OFFICE.

ONLINE
www.CapFringe.org
July 10 - 30
24 hours a day

BY PHONE
1-866-811-4111
July 10 - 30
M - F; 9am - 9pm
Sa - Su; 10am - 6pm

FESTIVAL BOX OFFICE
Warehouse Downtown Arts Complex
1017-21 7th Street, NW
(Look for the signs)
FESTIVAL BOX OFFICE HOURS Pre-Festival (July 10-19):
Monday through Saturday: 12 noon to 6 PM
FESTIVAL BOX OFFICE HOURS during Festival Time (July 20-30):
Monday through Thursday: 12 noon to 11 PM
Friday through Sunday: 10 AM to 11 PM

Tickets will be sold at performance venues 1 hour before show time, CASH transactions ONLY.
Thank you!

Hilary Kacser as Rose in "In Pursuit of the English: Rose" -- More Photos by Tom Kochel

2006-02-22T09:07:00.000-05:00

HOME PAGE: In Pursuit of the English: Rose

2006-02-20T00:17:00.000-05:00

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