The Last Cyclist, an award-winning film by Naomi Patz and directed by Edward Einhorn, is based on a dark comedy written in the Terezín Ghetto in 1944 by camp inmate Karel Svenk but banned on the night of its dress rehearsal for fear of SS reprisals. The play the actors are rehearsing in the film pits bike riders (Jews) against lunatics (Nazis), as did the absurdist original – a silly story with a deeply serious message. The power of The Last Cyclist allows audiences to bear witness, as if we too are attending that fateful dress rehearsal in the concentration camp, so while we are amused and intrigued, we are also terrified of the murderous immorality of the lunatics – not only in that time, but also in ours.

The Last Cyclist. Original play by: Karel Svenk. Written and co-produced by: Naomi Patz. Directed by: Edward Einhorn. Original score by: Stephen Feigenbaum. Director of photography: Alexander Jorgensen. Cast: Craig Anderson, Lynn Berg, Kirsten Hopkins, Timur Kocak, Ambrose Martos, Jenny Lee Mitchell, Eric Emil Oleson, Patrick Pizzolorusso, Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld, Clay Westman, Judy Blazer, Marina Dessena.

Screening of The Last Cyclist is followed by a 20-minute documentary on the film and history of Karel Svenk.

This event is part of the 2024 Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival: Dark Dreams. For more information, visit rehearsalfortruth.org.

Free and open to the public. Suggested donation $10. Seats are limited, on first-come, first-served basis. Online registration is required.

The 2024 Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival: Dark Dreams is organized by BBLA and the Vaclav Havel Center. The program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. The festival is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Rehearsal for Truth International Theater Festival is an annual showcase of contemporary Central and Eastern European theater, established in 2017. The festival is a shared endeavor of the Vaclav Havel Center and the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association in partnership with numerous other cultural and performing arts organizations. The festival honors the artistic and political legacy of the Czech playwright/dissident/president Vaclav Havel. We support exchanges between American and European theater professionals and celebrate the power of the theater to transform our lives.