Ulysses

Overview

Created by Elevator Repair Service
Directed by John Collins
Co-Direction & Dramaturgy by Scott Shepherd
Text: James Joyce 

James Joyce’s Ulysses has fascinated, perplexed, scandalized, and/or defeated readers for over a century. Building on a rich history of staging modernist works—Gatz, The Sound and the Fury, The Select (The Sun Also Rises)—Elevator Repair Service (ERS) takes on this literary landmark.

Seven performers sit down for a sober reading but soon find themselves guzzling pints, getting in brawls, and committing debaucheries as they careen on a fast- forward tour through Joyce’s funhouse of styles. With madcap antics and a densely layered sound design, ERS presents an eclectic sampling from Joyce’s life-affirming masterpiece.

A manuscript of Ulysses in Joyce’s hand is housed in Philadelphia at the Rosenbach Museum & Library! Check out related Joyce-themed events and tours. Presented in association with the Rosenbach Museum & Library.

SUPPORT
Festival Star Producers: Linda and David Glickstein
Festival Co-Producers: Richard and Margaret Greenawalt, Jackie and Eric Kraeutler, Susan Muller, Peter and Eleanor Nalle

About the Artist

Elevator Repair Service (ERS) is a New York City–based company that creates original works for live theater with an ongoing ensemble. The company’s shows are created from a wide range of texts that include found transcripts of trials and debates, literature, classical dramas, and new plays. Founded in 1991, ERS has created an extensive body of work that includes upwards of 20 original pieces. These have earned the company a loyal following and made it one of New York’s most highly acclaimed experimental theater companies. The company is best known for Gatz, its award-winning verbatim staging of the entire text of The Great Gatsby. ERS has received numerous awards and distinctions, including Lortel awards, a Bessie award, and an OBIE award for Sustained Excellence, as well as a Guggengheim Fellowship and Doris Duke Performing Artist Award for Artistic Director John Collins.

Upcoming: Gatz at the Public Theater in New York (November 1-December 1)

ULYSSES was commissioned by and received its world premiere at the Fisher Center at Bard in June 2024. Major commissioning and development support was provided by the T.S. Eliot Foundation and Fisher Center LAB, which receives funding from members of the Live Arts Bard Creative Council, the Lucille Lortel Foundation, and the Fisher Center's Artistic Innovation Fund, with lead support from Rebecca Gold and additional funding from The William and Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation.

This performance is made possible, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Ulysses was commissioned by and developed at Symphony Space. READ MORE.

Credits