ExPats Theatre
Connecting people across cultures through theatre & the performing arts.
Runs Oct 28 - Nov 21, 2021
Pankrác ’45 by Czech playwright Martina Kinska
English translation by Barbara Day.
It’s 1945 in Prague after the German defeat. A short period of liberation-euphoria is followed by a turbulent time of revenge and retribution. Nazis and traitors are prosecuted, and public executions happen daily. Sharing one prison cell are five women accused of Nazi collaboration. None of them knows how long they will be there, or if any will live to see the outside world again. Each has to testify knowing the gallows are waiting. The play is a gut-wrenching human story that raises profound questions of guilt, revenge, betrayal and survival.
The live, in-person performance opens Thursday, October 28, 2021 and runs through Sunday, November 21, 2021. It features Sara Barker as Hana, Lisa Hodsoll as Julča, Aniko Olah as Nova, Karin Rosnizeck as Adina, and Stacy Whittle as Lída. Co-directors: Melissa Robinson and Karin Rosnizeck. Assistant Director: Kate Foster. Set and projections by Johnny Dahm Robertson, lighting design by Marianne Meadows, and costumes by Brandee Matthies. Pankrác ’45 will be presented at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, DC.
There will be a talkback discussion following the Sunday, October 31 matinee featuring Ambassador Cynthia Schneider, co-director of the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics at Georgetown University, and Christina Riley, resident fellow in the Center for Humanities Research at George Mason University. We also will have a talkback discussion after the performance on Thursday, November 11 with Czech Embassy Cultural Director Lukas Pribyl and John Feffer, director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies and author of Aftershock: A Journey into Eastern Europe’s Broken Dreams. That performance also is Czech Night at the theatre.
Broadway World review
"Pankrac '45 is a must-see theatrical event" ... "a trenchant and absorbing play" ... "use of intricately composed and historically accurate projections is nothing less than masterful" ... "Directors Melissa Robinson and Karin Rosnizeck have ... succeeded admirably"
DC Metro Theater Arts review
"moving and unforgettable" ... "the excellence of the entire production" ... "they are all unforgettable" ..."I highly recommend reading the program"
City Paper review
"ExPats Theatre examines the persistence of authoritarianism" and "asks what happens to survivors when war is over"
David Rabin Radio Interview
WPFW's David Rabin interviews Karin Rosnizeck about her Pankrac '45 play and the contemporary relevance of life under authoritarian regimes. What does life in occupied Prague in 1945 tell us about our risks today and how future generations may judge us?
D.C. Theatre Scene Profile
Rosnizeck: “In today’s global, post-national world, mobility and deterritorialization, the migration experience, the transnational existence, and living between cultures have become a social and cultural norm.”
Rosnizeck: “I want to point out that in today’s global, post-national world, mobility and deterritorialization, the migration experience, the transnational existence, and living between cultures have become a social and cultural norm.” (SURFACING)
Kojo Nnadmdi Interview (WAMU)
In her interview with Kojo Nnamdi, Karin discusses SURFACING and explains why D.C. needs more theatrical productions that improve understanding across cultures.
Listen to the Interview
Karin Rosnizeck, Expats Theatre Founder, is a DC-based theatre artist, having performed in numerous shows in and around D.C. With ExPats, she has directed Surfacing by Russian-Austrian playwright Julya Rabinowich and Einstein’s Wife by Serbian playwright Snezana Gnjinic. Karin has translated several German language plays into English and has developed a keen interest in bringing contemporary international plays to DC. Before coming to the US, she worked in transatlantic relations promoting cultural dialogue for more than a decade. She holds an M.A. in American/English and French Literature.
PAST PRODUCTIONS
Einstein’s Wife
by Snezana Gnjidic | translation by Milena Trobozic Garfield
“luscious night”
“brilliant creative team”
“mesmerizing performances”
“startlingly well-played scenes”
Surfacing
by Julya Rabinowich | translation by Karin Rosnizeck
“riveting performances”
“a meditation on a condition”
“love and torture are inexplicably intertwined”
“timely for contemporary discussions of refugees”
Support Us
ExPats Theatre is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt, non-profit organization under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Your contributions are deductible to the full extent of the law. Contributions can be made via PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, or check. For details, email us at ExPatsTheatre@aol.com.
