Hotel Modern The Great War

"This is a deeply original and enthralling piece of theatre…a work that fits with chilling ease between childlike war games and serious comment."—Sunday Herald

"An astonishingly inventinve and unbearably touching production."—BBC Radio Merseyside

Dutch theater ensemble Hotel Modern probes timeless themes of the ravages of war and the harsh realities that engulf soldiers in The Great War. The company's startlingly novel dramatic concept uses the brutal trench warfare of World War I as a lens to examine the ceaseless, universal toll of combat. An idyllic cultivated landscape transforms into a battle-scarred vista of destruction before your eyes, as the entire stage floor becomes a film set for a scaled-down version of the Western Front's war zone.

Company members roam this ruined terrain armed with tiny video cameras, creating an animated film that is projected above scenes that detail—with miniature tanks and toy soldiers—the tragic human enterprise too often glorified by nations' patriotic zeal. As you simultaneously watch the inventive theater magic unfold and the astonishingly realistic projected images that result, spoken passages from frontline testimonies and soldiers' letters bring out the heartrending price paid by cannon fodder caught in the storm of war.

The U.S. tour by Hotel Modern was made possible with generous support from the Consulates General of the Netherlands in New York and Chicago.

Discussion session with Hotel Modern
Fri, Jan 22 | 2-3:30 PM

In this informal session, members of Hotel Modern will discuss the development of The Great War and their approach to theater more generally. Attendees will include students from Ohio State's Department of Theatre; members of the public are also invited to participate. Having attended The Great War on its opening night (Jan 21) is strongly recommended.

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