Matthew Zajac performs “The Tailor of Inverness”
Internationally-renowned touring production reaches UMass Amherst
Tuesday Jan 31 through Friday Feb 3, 8pm each night, at The Curtain Theater
Tickets are $16/general admission; $8/seniors and students.
For tickets, call 413-545-2511 or visit www.fineartscenter.com
“… a beautifully realised tale of the reality of survival in war-torn Eastern Europe … Matthew Zajac’s moving performance is a triumph of evocative staging and storytelling.”
Katie Toms, The Observer 2008
“Beautifully performed, and directed… this is a deeply affecting piece of personal theatre that I heartily recommend.”
London Evening Standard 2008
“Zajac sews up the story superbly … this is a compelling and magical piece of theatre.”
Nell Nelson, Edinburgh Evening News 2008
Award-winning Scottish playwright, actor, and director Matthew Zajac brings his one-man play, “The Tailor of Inverness,” to UMass Amherst January 31 through February 3, 2012. This artist residency and touring production are presented by The Edinburgh Fringe Summer Program, the Dean of the UMass College of Humanities and Fine Arts, and Five College Performance Studies, and is hosted by the UMass Department of Theater. Zajac and Gavin Marwick, a traditional solo fiddle player who provides the live musical score for the show, will host a series of workshops and clinics for Five College students during the week. Performances of “The Tailor of Inverness” are scheduled for Tuesday, January 31 through Friday, February 3 at 8 p.m. in the Curtain Theater at UMass Amherst.
A semi-biographical, solo documentary performance piece, “The Tailor of Invernes” follows Zajac’s father (who has Polish/Russian/Lithuanian ancestry) through early 20th Century Eastern Europe. Born in Galicia (once known as Eastern Poland, now known as Western Ukraine), Zajac brings to life many of the events that impacted both his father’s life and world history. This play traces his father’s history through being a prisoner of war of the Soviets in 1939, receiving amnesty after the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, participating in the emigration of thousands of Poles to Tehran and Egypt during World War II, his time in the British Army, then settling in Glasgow, Northern Scotland. Spanning almost an entire century, “The Tailor of Inverness” emphasizes the role of history and place in shaping identity and defining belonging.
This extraordinary production tells the story of the tailor’s life and his son’s relationship to it through theatrical imagery, combining, storytelling, moving and still video projections, costume and choreography.
“The Tailor of Inverness” has been performed at the world-renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Arches Theatre (Glasgow, Scotland), the Adelaide Fringe Festival (Australia), the Skelleftea Storytelling Festival (Sweden), the Szene: Schottland Festival at Societaeststheater (Dresden, Germany), Konfrontacje Teatralne (Theatre Confrontations) Festival (Lublin, Poland), Zielona Gora University (Poland), and theatres in Scotland, the Ukraine, and other countries in Eastern Europe. Students partaking in the workshops and performance will experience a play of international acclaim. The UMass Amherst presentation serves as the US premiere of “The Tailor of Inverness.”
“The Tailor of Inverness” has received numerous awards including the 2009 Best Actor Critics’ Award for Theatre in Scotland, the 2008 Scotsman Fringe First Award, The Stage Award for Best Solo Performer, and the Holden Street Theatre Award from the Adelaide Fringe Festival.
Zajac is an award-winning stage and film actor, producer, writer, and director. With a career spanning over 20 years, his work has been seen by thousands around the world. Currently, he is an Artistic Director of Dogstar Theatre Company, the company that first produced “The Tailor of Inverness,” and was a founding member of Plain Clothes Productions.
Gavin Marwick is an accomplished fiddle player, composer, and recording artist. He is one of the remaining artist in the world who plays Traditional Scottish music. A member of several bands, Marwick also plays Yiddish and Celtic music.
This presentation of “The Tailor of Inverness” follows the “After’festival” program’s tradition of bringing high-quality, internationally-renowed performances from the festival to the area. Students involved in the annual Edinburgh Fringe Theater Program includes students from the Five College community and universities across the country. Only 20-30 students are able to attend the festival abroad. Bringing productions from the festival exposes more UMass students to important work of the contemporary performance canon.
Tickets are $16/general admission; $8/seniors and students. To purchase tickets, please contact the Fine Arts Center Box Office at (413) 545-2511 or 1-800-999-UMAS. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.fineartscenter.com.
For more information on the play and specific performance dates, please visit www.umass.edu/theater.
