"WE KEEP COMING BACK"

We Keep Coming Back is a performance work deconstructing Polish Jewish narratives

Michael Rubenfeld is a theatre artist living in Toronto. He has a complicated relationship with his mother Mary who was born in Sweden to Jewish refugees from Poland. No one in his family identifies as Polish or Swedish. Michael begins to question his feelings of detachment from his mother, from Jewishness, from Poland. Are the feelings of disconnect all connected? Can a mother and son find a way back to each other by going back to their roots and by making a play about it? How doesPoland play into this personal quest? They set off to Poland with director Sarah Garton Stanley and a Polish writer/filmmaker Katka Reszke, who happens to be on an identity quest of her own. In a multimedia, sonically-driven presentation, Michael comes together on stage with Mary and Katka to tell and retell the story of their trip replete with serendipitous discoveries, faulty memory, charged interactions, unexpected humour, the shadows of war, and the promise of writing a new narrative.

World Premiere of "We Keep Coming Back" took place in Kraków on June 30, 2016 with additional shows on July 1, 2, and 3 and with two preview shows in Szczecin on June 24 and June 25.

Canadian Premiere took place on September 3, 2016, 8:30PM
at Ashkenaz Festival in Toronto, ON at Studio Theatre, Harbourfront Centre
www.ashkenaz.ca/dt_portfolio/we-keep-coming-back/

Between July 1-15, 2017, "We Keep Coming Back" completed a 5-city tour in Poland

Polish Tour 2017 Facebook Event links:

July 1, 6PM - Kraków
For tickets visit: Eventbrite

July 4, 6PM - Lublin
July 5, 7PM - Lublin
Lubliner Reunion 2017

July 8, 7PM - Warsaw
For tickets go to this Teatr Dramatyczny link
July 9, 7PM - Warsaw
For tickets go to this Teatr Dramatyczny link

July 12, 6PM - Wrocław
For tickets visit: Eventbrite

July 15, 6PM - Białystok

Selfconscious TVP Szczecin
We concluded our two-week residency in the Kana Theatre with a public showing of the play in-progress. Our presentation launched the new artistic season at the theatre and gathered quite a lot of media attention. After the showing we had the pleasure of speaking to our first Polish audience during a talk-back, and were incredibly moved with the important and meaningful conversation that ensued.
To find out more about the show click here