| OPERATION AJAX (a game of skill and chance) |
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| FEBRUARY 14 THROUGH MARCH 10 Wednesdays through Saturdays 8:15 PMWHERE EAGLES DARE (between 8th and 9th avenues) 1, 2, 3, A, C, E to 34th Street 13TH FLOOR BLACKBIRD THEATER $18 RESERVATIONS: JAY SMITH as CIA Senior Officer KERMIT “Kim” Roosevelt GAVIN STARR KENDALL as Grand Ayatollah KHOMEINI ALBERT AEED as Secretary of State John Foster DULLES NICHOLAS WARREN-GRAY as The SHAH of Iran KELLY MARKUS as British U.N. Representative Gladwyn JEBB DOROTHY ABRAHAMS as Prime Minister Mohammad MOSSADEGH RODNEY HAKIM as dissident writer and poet Reza BARAHENI Sets and Costumes: ARNULFO MALDONADO Lights: LUCAS KRECH Sound: DUNCAN CUTLER :::: the butane group ©2007 |
Iran. 1953.
The CIA’s first covert coup against a foreign democracy. The ultimate gamble. Constructed from no less than 25 text sources (memoirs, documentaries, plays, poetry, novels, films, reality tv shows), the piece tells the story of the CIA’s 1953 coup against Iran’s first democratically-elected government. Placed in a casino context, the densely-layered performance explores how the addiction to risk and gambling has become a potent metaphor for U.S. foreign policy. Text Constructed by NOEL SALZMAN and TAMARA SCHMIDT with Meghan Frank, Mireya Lucio, Armistead Johnson and Rodney Hakim Press Contact: JUDD HOLLANDER for Bunch of People Productions bnchpeop@aol.com / Directed by NOEL SALZMAN Work-in-progress presentations took place at The Chocolate Factory, NYC (12/04) and Where Eagles Dare, NYC (1/06)
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TEXT SOURCES • The Birth of the Poet: a Play in Three Acts by Kathy Acker, 1981 • Imperial Salute (former Iranian national anthem), 1933-1979, words by M. H. Afsar • The Crowned Cannibals: Writings on Repression in Iran by Reza Baraheni, 1977 • God’s Shadow: Prison Poems by Reza Baraheni, 1976 • BBC News, “Timeline: Iran” • Biography: Kermit (Kim) Roosevelt • Taziyeh: Ritual and Drama in Iran, edited by Peter Chelkowsi, 1979 • La Baie des Anges [Bay of Angels], a film by Jacques Demy, 1963 • End of Empire: Iran, Granada Television, 1985 • Casino Royale, a novel by Ian Fleming, 1953 • Live and Let Die, a film by Guy Hamilton, 1973 • Anatomy of a Coup: The CIA in Iran, History Undercover, The History Channel, A&E Television Networks, 2000 • Intervention, A&E Television Networks: Episode 2: “Gabe,” first aired 3/13/05 Episode 4: “Alissa,” first aired 3/27/05 Episode 8: “Tina,” first aired 5/8/05 • The Mind of a Monarch by R.K. Karanjia, 1977 • All the Shah’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror by Stephen Kinzer, 2003 • The James Bond Phenomenon: A Critical Reader, edited by Christoph Lindner, 2003 • Croupier, a screenplay by Paul Mayersberg, 2001 • Norooz: A Celebration of Life, The Medium Online — Features • The Age of Chance: Gambling in Western Culture by Gerda Reith, 1999 • Countercoup: The Struggle for the Control of Iran by Kermit Roosevelt, 1979 • Playing and Modernity, an essay/play by Susan Rubin Suleiman, 1988 • The Transformation of John Foster Dulles: From Prophet of Realism to Priest of Nationalism by Mark G. Toulouse, 1985 • Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace: How We Got to Be So Hated by Gore Vidal, 2002 • The Other Window, a song by Wire from the album 154, 1979 |
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