DVD RELEASE CELEBRATION

 

Universal Mutant & Arthur Magazine Present
Paradise Now: A collective creation of the Living Theatre DVD ANTHOLOGY

 

*****

 

In remembrance
Hanon Reznikov, 1950-2008

 

Sunday June 22, 2008 @ Zebulon Cafe Concert
258 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211 USA

 

L TRAIN TO BEDFORD AVE
J,M,Z TRAIN TO BROADWAY

 

*****
Readings
*****
Steve Ben Israel
Ira Cohen
Allan Graubard

 

*****
Films
*****
PARADISE NOW: THE LIVING THEATRE IN AMERIKA (1969)
A film by Marty Topp, produced for Universal Mutant by Ira Cohen
http://www.arthurmag.com/store/dvds.php

 

International Premiere: The Permanent Revolution: Change! (2008)
A film by W. C. Swofford and Georg Gatsas

 

*****
Improvisation
****
Kevin Shea, drums
W. C. Swofford, swaramandal + electric organ
Daniel Carter, saxophone + winds

 

MORE ABOUT THE ANTHOLOGY

 

 

NEW FROM ARTHUR: PARADISE NOW: THE LIVING THEATRE IN AMERIKA DVD

LIMITED EDITION OF 1,000 – ORDER NOW!Order direct from ARTHUR using PAYPAL

“Life, revolution and theater are three words for the same thing:
an unconditional NO to the present society.” – Julian Beck

“Paradise Now … more relevant now because we’re closer
to now than we ever have been.” – Hanon Reznikov

Arthur Magazine proudly presents our newest release PARADISE NOW: The Living Theatre in Amerika DVD featuring rare, never-before-distributed films and a bacchanal of revolutionary multimedia documents from The Living Theatre’s historic and influential ’68-’69 American tour. A fulminating art-meets-life installation as collected by Will Swofford and brought to you in collaboration with The Living Theatre and Universal Mutant, Inc.

 

PARADISE NOW ANTHOLOGY DVD direct from ARTHUR using PAYPAL – ORDER NOW!
PREVIEW ON YOUTUBE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF7_BdHi_NA

WHAT IS PARADISE NOW?

In 1968 The Living Theatre, led by Julian Beck and Judith Malina, triumphantly returned to America from years of self-imposed exile in Europe with their theatrical breakthrough Paradise Now. The play introduces the practice of collective creation, dissolving the boundaries of human interactions and forging a harmony between the actors and audience. Of this process, Julian Beck writes, “Collective creation is the secret weapon of the people… This play is a voyage from the many to the one and from the one to the many. It’s a spiritual voyage and a political voyage, a voyage for the actors and the spectators. The play is a vertical ascent toward permanent revolution, leading to revolutionary action here and now. The revolution of which the play speaks is the beautiful, non-violent, anarchist revolution. The purpose of the play is to lead to a state of being in which non-violent revolutionary action is possible.”The result of this shared voyage is the spontaneous creation of a temporary anarchist collective- free from the enslavements of war, violence, the State, money and the self.Order direct from ARTHUR using PAYPAL

CRITICAL PRAISE FOR MARTY TOPP’S PARADISE NOW

“Paradise Now is possibly The Living Theatre’s greatest achievement … unsurpassable!” — Ira Cohen”This past spring, in a group art show at New York’s Swiss Institute, an old black-and-white television played a grainy print of bodies writhing to the tune of distant drumming. ‘As long as you have people working for money and not love, there will be violence,’ intoned a tall, angular man on the screen. The bodies- women in scant bikinis and men in what looked like loincloths-piled together in an orgiastic tribal dance, some simulating (or perhaps actually having) sex as the voice continued: ‘Psycho-sexual repression is impeding the revolution.’ What looked like an underworld-of the 1960’s counter-cultural variety, in this case- is the Living Theatre’s Paradise Now, as documented in the 1969 Ira Cohen-produced film Paradise Now: The Living Theatre in Amerika … soon to be released on DVD from Arthur Magazine.” — CAN THEATER STAGE A REVOLUTION? – Traci Parks, Fall ’07 Preview, V MAGAZINE”Joyous, brutal, exploding with the kinetic energies of psychic catharsis… Marty Topp’s PARADISE NOW: The Living Theatre in Amerika has captured the essence of this extraordinary theatrical experiment. It is unquestionably one of the finest artistic documentaries to come out of the United States cinema. It’s heartfelt sincerity should be sheer inspiration to the many young people throughout the country who are struggling to make meaningful and influential work. It is the reverberation of a crucially important message that must not be neglected, for the consequences are too terrible to endure. Marty Topp’s achievement is not just in the making of a great film, but in making us remember again, Paradise as a reality.” – PARADISE ON FILM – Don Snyder, July 1970, East Village Other

“Like an astonishing portion of the country’s popular music, the spectacles of The Living Theater proved to be in content and form outside the social system- not structured by it nor, except as outlet, implementing it: liberated territory.” — Revolution at the Brooklyn Academy – Stefan Brecht, The Drama Review number 43: Spring 1969, The Living Theater Issue

MORE ABOUT THE LIVING THEATRE

Founded in 1947, The Living Theatre has staged more than 80 productions performed in eight languages in 25 countries on four continents – a unique body of work. Visit their new space on Clinton St. in NYC – more info:www.livingtheatre.org