Nature Theater of Oklahoma

In 2009, the Nature Theater of Oklahoma – an unclassifiable company not from Oklahoma but New York – embarked on an epic Proustian project: to recount the life of a member of the troupe in ten episodes. Based on sixteen hours of telephone interviews with Kristin Worrall, Life and Times begins with four shows and a detour via a book, before episodes 7 and 8 switch mediums and become films.

The seventh episode shifts the focus from Kristin Worrall to those close to her, who speak about her final years at university, an exchange period abroad and the very beginning of her career as an artist in New York. The script includes no less than a hundred characters set in various locations, from Amsterdam to Athens and Budapest. Kelly Copper and Pavol Liska shot it entirely in an apartment with eight actors, and pay homage to Citizen Kane by playing mischievously with the conventions of film noir – and the limitations of their budget.

Nature Theater of Oklahoma is a New York based company directed by Kelly Copper and Pavol Liska. Founded in 2003, it is known for its daring projects, “impossible challenges” that play with the codes of performance and take many different forms. The audience plays an essential role, especially as participants. Its repertoire includes Pursuit of Happiness (2016), No President (2018), the Life and Times series and the film Die Kinder der Toten, based on the novel of the same name by Elfriede Jelinek.