WHISTLEBLOWER
“The dancing is visceral and athletic”. — Alexis Soloski THE NEW YORK TIMES
WHEN THE WORLD SUCKS JUST BLOW!
The world premiere of Bessie and Obie Award Winning choreographer Mark Dendy's new radical new dance theater work.
WHISTLEBLOWER takes place in the mind of Bradley/Chelsea Manning as (s)he awaits court-martialing & sentencing after leaking state secrets.
WHISTLEBLOWER received its world premiere at DIXON PLACE, NYC - September 11, 2015.
September 11, 12, 18, 19, 25 and 26, 2015
WRITTEN & DIRECTED by Mark Dendy
CHOREOGRAPHY by Mark Dendy in collaboration with the company
ORIGINAL MUSIC by Heather Christian LYRICS by Mark Dendy
VIDEO, COSTUMES, SET & SOUND by Stephen Donovan
CAST Christopher Bell, Liv Bruce, Mark Dendy, Stephen Donovan, Rebecca Lubart and Mei Yamanaka
WHISTLEBLOWER was commissioned by DIXON PLACE and co-produced by Mark Dendy and Stephen Donovan and with funds from 87 supporter through INDIEGOGO.
WHISTLEBLOWER was made possible in part with public funds from the Manhattan Community Arts Fund, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.
“For Mark Dendy — writer, director and choreographer of Whistleblower—our distractions and distance from the Manning controversy prove beneficial. His project succeeds as a rough, fanciful patchwork—a little song and dance, a little Brecht and Kafka, and a lot of alarming video straight out of cyberspace and the American Id.”
— Eva Yaa Asantewaa TIME.OUT.NYC
“Though Manning's case already feels like history in some ways, Dendy reminds us that its personal and political meanings are still urgent.”
— Lauren Wingenroth BROADWAYWORLD.COM
"Even though Dendy is a choreographer, the dancing in Whistleblower is intermittent and incidental to the overall effect of the project. Costuming, set design (both brilliantly and pointedly executed by Stephen Donovan), videos (also produced by Mr. Donovan) of everything from deserts to battles to porn, and, in particular, words (many of Chelsea Manning’s) plus transcript excerpts from the trial, all trump the choreography. It didn’t matter that this wasn’t a “ballet.” It was a well-intentioned, vivid work of total theater."
- Joel Benjamin THEATERSCENE.NET