The Emperor Jones
The Wooster Group, 2001
Videomaker: Chris Kondek      Director: Elizabeth LeCompte
 

Brutus Jones - Kate Valk Smithers - Willem Dafoe

 

DVD & Videotape

Famed for their experimental productions, The Wooster Group broke through taboo upon taboo in their acclaimed production of Eugene O'Neill's The Emperor Jones. Now, in a collaborative effort between The Wooster Group and videomaker Chris Kondek, this gender- and race-bending achievement has been transposed to video, and in the process transformed. This is not a mere documentation of a play, but a new creation that maintains an intense theatricality while combining the methodology of video with the Group's continued exploration of mask in American theatrical iconography. Using chromakey technology, Kondek integrates video elements from the stage production with newfound elements, ranging from old black-and-white movies to Hi-8 vacation footage, setting up a dialogue between contrasting modes of representation.

– filmlinc