Alliance for New Music-Theatre will open the double bill of Václav Havel's seminal play "Protest" and New Music-Theatre's "Vaněk Unleashed," on November 5, 2019, at 8 pm, at the Dupont Underground. 

In Protest, Vaněk pays a visit to the lavish home of former colleague Staněk, who has invited the renowned activist to help him secure the release of a jailed radical musician, fiancé to his daughter. Vaněk also seeks a favor: the influential man's signature in a far-reaching protest. Vaněk Unleashed is a uniquely American response to the same, most beloved central character of Vaněk. In this work, Alliance adds to the tradition that includes playwrights Samuel Beckett and Tom Stoppard paying tribute to Havel by making Vaněk a universal character, adding music, clowning and silent film tropes in the genre of the theater of absurd.

Audiences will find Vaněk still struggling with issues of identity as he careens between prison and the more terrifying and absurd world outside. Step inside the Dupont Underground as we explore a play performed in the underground and one inspired by Havel's endearing character.

The event is presented in collaboration with the Dupont Underground and the Embassy of the Czech Republic. The theatrical production is also part of the Embassy's Mutual Inspirations Festival as well as the celebrations surrounding the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.

Event Details:

Opening Night: November 5, 2019, at 8 pm
Please note there are additional shows with previews: October 29-November 17
Tickets: https://www.newmusictheatre.org/the-havel-project

Venue: Dupont Underground
Entrance located at 19 Dupont Circle, on the NE side of the circle next to the Starbucks.

About the Festival:
The Mutual Inspirations Festival (MIF) is an annual initiative organized by the Embassy of the Czech Republic, concentrating on the mutual influence between Czech and American cultures and the feats of personalities who have led the way. Now in its tenth year, the festival pays tribute to legendary singer and dissident leader Marta Kubišová, with over 20 events celebrating freedom through the arts in Washington, DC. For more information about the festival, please visit:

www.mutualinspirations.org.