Desperately Seeking Rimbaud

The Civilians’ production of Rimbaud in New York, written and directed by Steve Cosson, with poems by Arthur Rimbaud translated by John Ashbery and produced by BAM with major support from the Poetry Foundation, runs at the BAM Fisher from March 1—6.

By Steve Cosson

Last season I had the good fortune to direct Joely Richardson in the one-woman show about Emily Dickinson by William Luce, The Belle of Amherst. That show, originally created for Julie Harris in the 70s, invented a kind of theatrical language for making theater about a writer and a writer’s work. I learned much from this form, and learned even more in the rehearsal room with Joely as I followed her emotional and mental intelligence into a deep excavation of the poems.

In Context: Rimbaud in New York

In this prismatic collage of song and story, theater company The Civilians (Paris Commune, 2012 Next Wave Festival) use music-theater to consider the life and lasting influence of modernism’s most elusive enfant terrible: Arthur Rimbaud. Context is everything, so get even closer to Rimbaud in New York with this curated selection of content related to the show. After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought below and by posting on social media using #RimbaudNY.

2015 End-of-Year Reading List

Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom. Photo: Focus Features

Don't think of it as homework; think of it as getting a leg up on the upcoming BAM season while putting all those gift cards to good use.

Get lost in Arthur Rimbaud's labyrinthine Illuminations in advance of The Civilians' Rimbaud in New York, read Frank Rich's theater criticism to prepare for his appearance with Fran Lebowitz, get to know the legendary dancer behind the Mariinsky Theatre's upcoming tributes, and much more with this reading list related to BAM in 2016.