Atlanta actor and translator, Isma’il ibn Conner teams up with 7 Stages Artistic Director and actor, Del Hamilton, in a world première translation into American English of In the Solitude of Cotton Fields (Dans la Solitude des Champs de Coton) by the highly acclaimed and often studied, contemporary French playwright Bernard-Marie Koltès and coproduced by CDDB – Théâtre de Lorient, Centre Dramatique National (France).

This play is a journey of deals - both profane and sacred, of desires that must be discovered and satisfied, of light and dark - two aspects of one entity, and the powerful interaction of two men who are more familiar than they appear. There is only a dealer, a client and desires that must be satisfied at all costs.

This production marks the beginning of THE U.S. KOLTES PROJECT, a ten-year project created in order to translate and produce six of Koltès’ plays, to continue the artistic legacy of the playwright Bernard-Marie Koltès. In cooperation with and through the exclusive permission of the Koltès Estate, a ten-year program was established in order to translate and produce six of Koltès’ plays: Dans la solitude des champs de coton, Le Jour des meurtres dans l’histoire d’Hamlet, Sallinger, La Nuit juste avant les forêts, Tabataba and Quai Ouest. 7 Stages chose these plays because they address the curious human condition and predicament that U.S. citizens face in relation to themselves, as citizens of the world. Bernard-Marie Koltès emerged as one of the most distinctive and important dramatic voices of the 1980s.

His work, based in real-life problems, expresses the tragedy of being alone and of death. His writing style accents the dramatic tension and the lyricism of his plays. Each play speaks of intense isolation, fear of the ’Other’, deal-making, senseless war, misplaced national loyalty, and dysfunctional familial love/hate. Isma’il ibn Conner, Artistitic Associate of 7 Stages and the official translator of the Koltès plays explains, the 7 Stages U.S. Koltès Project is a long-range effort to make new versions of Koltès’ plays, including several that have not been published, as well as his novels and other writings by and about him.

More info about THE U.S. KOLTES PROJECT, click here