Presidio Theatre and the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics to present Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski

San Francisco, CA, December 21, 2021 – The Presidio Theatre and The Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics will present Academy Award-nominated actor David Strathairn in Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski, in 11 performances February 16 to 27, 2022. In the tour-de-force, solo performance, David Strathairn portrays World War II hero and Holocaust witness Jan Karski, a messenger of truth who risked his life to carry his harrowing report from war-torn Poland to the Allied Nations and, ultimately, the Oval Office only to be ignored and disbelieved. Bearing witness to the despair of the Warsaw ghetto and standing tall in the halls of power, Strathairn captures the remarkable life of this self-described “insignificant, little man” whose forgotten story of moral courage and individual responsibility can still shake the conscience of the world. 

The run will begin with a preview on Wednesday, February 16, at 2 pm, opening night Thursday, February 17, at 7:30 pm and subsequent performances Friday, February 18, at 7:30 pm, Saturday, February 19, at 7:30 pm, Sunday, February 20, at 2 pm, Wednesday, February 23, at 2 pm, Thursday, February 24, at 7:30 pm, Friday, February 25, at 7:30 pm, Saturday, February 26, at 2 pm and 7:30 pm and Sunday, February 27, at 2 pm. The Presidio Theatre is located at 99 Moraga Avenue in San Francisco. Tickets, priced $10-$65, go on sale January 10 and may be purchased at www.presidiotheatre.org/2022rememberthis.

Strathairn, who has starred in the piece throughout its evolution, says of the production: “I’ve always felt that one of the vital roles, even a responsibility, of the artist/citizen, is to provide palpable, emotive, and relevant insight into the most pressing issues concerning our common humanity. By dramatizing the legacy of Jan Karski, we do just that.” 

Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski is an original production by The Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, written by Clark Young and Derek Goldman, directed by Derek Goldman and featuring Academy Award nominee David Strathairn as Jan Karski. Remember This launched its international tour to unanimous acclaim and sold-out houses at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. in October, and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in November of 2021. Georgetown University Press has released a special volume of the script that includes original written contributions by Secretary Madeleine Albright, Ambassador Samantha Power, Timothy Snyder, Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, among others. 

The one-man play—performed with just a table and two chairs—was launched in November 2019 as a featured part of the Centennial Celebration Weekend of Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, and then was invited to London as part of the 75th Anniversary Commemoration of the Liberation of Auschwitz, in partnership with Human Rights Watch. While in London, Christiane Amanpour conducted a fifteen minute interview feature with David Strathairn for CNN and PBS. Recently, the play was adapted into a feature film produced by award-winning documentary filmmaker Eva Anisko, it will premiere in 2022. 

The creative team for Remember This includes Ivania Stack (Costume Design), Zach Blane (Lighting Design), Roc Lee (Composition/ Sound Design), Emma Jaster (Movement) and Misha Kachman (Set Design). 

About the Artists 

Clark Young (Co-Author) NEW YORK: Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski (as My Report to the World) at the Museum of Jewish Heritage | INTERNATIONAL:  Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski at Queen Mary University, London; with  Teatr IMKA in Warsaw, Poland | STC: The Taming of the Shrew (free-for-all), The  Servant of Two Masters | REGIONAL: Ford’s Theatre: Fly, 25th Annual Putnam  County Spelling Bee; Woolly Mammoth: Full Circle; Studio Theatre: Astro Boy and  the God of Comics, Songs of the Dragon Flying to Heaven; Company One: Astro  Boy and the God of Comics; Synetic Theater: Kafka’s Metamorphosis, Lysistrata; National Symphony Orchestra: georgeWASHINGTON | FILM: Remember This | TEACHING: Georgetown University (Acting, Directing), Bronx Lighthouse College Prep Academy. EDUCATION: Georgetown University: BA in English, Theater and Performance Studies, NYU Tisch: MA in Performance Studies | PUBLICATIONS: Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski: GU Press, 2021 | PERSONAL: he/him/his | UPCOMING: .406 Below, a new play about Ted Williams and the quest for immortality. 

Derek Goldman (Director, Co-Author) Derek Goldman is the Chair of Georgetown University’s Department of Performing Arts and Director of the Theater & Performance Studies Program, as well as Co-Founding Director of the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, with the mission to harness the power of performance to humanize global politics. He is an award-winning stage director, playwright/ adapter, scholar, producer, and developer of new work, whose work has been seen around the country, off-Broadway, and internationally. His work has been seen at theaters such as Steppenwolf, Lincoln Center, Arena Stage, Baltimore Center Stage, Folger, Round House, Everyman, Mosaic, Theater J, Synetic the Kennedy Center, Ford’s Theater, McCarter, Segal Center (Montreal), Olney Theater (where he is an Artistic Associate), and others. He is the author of more than 30 professionally produced plays and adaptations, including work published by Samuel French, and he has directed over 100 productions. His engagement with global  performance in recent years has taken his work to Sudan, Cambodia, Bangladesh, China, Poland, South Africa, Australia, Peru, Bulgaria, Armenia, Chile, the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, France, and throughout the UK, among other places. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Theatre Communications Group (TCG); Vice President of UNESCO’s International Theatre Institute, and Founding Director of the global Network of Higher Education in the Performing Arts. He holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and he recently received the President’s Award for Distinguished Scholar-Teachers at Georgetown. David Strathairn– On April 24, 2014, in collaboration with Derek Goldman and Clark Young, Strathairn joined with The Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics in Georgetown to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Jan Karski’s birth. Earlier versions of this piece were invited to Warsaw in October of that year and performed at Teatr Imka as part of the celebration of the opening of POLIN Museum of the History of Polish jews, in NYC at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, and in Boston at Georgetown University’s John Carroll weekend. Other projects of which Strathairn is  most proud of being a part of include: The THEATRE OF WAR Productions, community-specific theatre-based projects that address vital public health and social issues; George Clooney’s film Good Night and Good Luck about Edward R. Murrow’s confrontation, and ultimate victory against Senator Joseph McCarthy; Spielberg’s Lincoln starring Daniel day Lewis; John Sayle’s films Matewan, Eight Men Out, and City of Hope; Doug Magee’s Beyond the Call, about the tragic consequences of PTSD; and the plays Scorched by Wajdi Mouawad and Underneath the Lintel by Glenn Berger at ACT in San Francisco. Most recently, Nomadland, a film written and directed by Chloe Zhao and featuring Strathairn, won the top prize, the Golden Lion, at the Venice Film Festival. 

David Strathairn joined with The Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics in Georgetown to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Jan Karski’s birth. Earlier  versions of this piece were invited to Warsaw in October of that year and performed  at Teatr Imka as part of the celebration of the opening of POLIN Museum of the  History of Polish jews, in NYC at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, and in Boston at  Georgetown University’s John Carroll weekend. Other projects of which Strathairn is  most proud of being a part of include: The THEATRE OF WAR Productions,  community-specific theatre-based projects that address vital public health and  social issues; George Clooney’s film Good Night and Good Luck about Edward R.  Murrow’s confrontation, and ultimate victory against Senator Joseph McCarthy;  Spielberg’s Lincoln starring Daniel day Lewis; John Sayle’s films Matewan, Eight  Men Out, and City of Hope; Doug Magee’s Beyond the Call, about the tragic  consequences of PTSD; and the plays Scorched by Wajdi Mouawad and Underneath  the Lintel by Glenn Berger at ACT in San Francisco. Most recently, Nomadland, a  film written and directed by Chloe Zhao and featuring Strathairn, won the top prize,  the Golden Lion, at the Venice Film Festival. 

Full bios may be found here: Remember This Cast and Creative Team

COVID Safety at the Presidio Theatre 

The Theatre requires all guests to wear a mask at all times while inside the Theatre  building. All guests are required to show proof of full vaccination with a matching  photo ID. Full vaccination is defined as two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine,  or one dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Youth 5 to 17 can use a school ID,  birth certificate, or social security card in place of a photo ID. Young children under  five years old are not allowed.  

About The Presidio Theatre 

The historic Presidio Theatre was built in 1939 by the U.S. Army with funding from  the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The Theatre is located next to the  Parade Grounds on the Main Post of the Presidio of San Francisco in the Golden  Gate National Recreation Area. In 2017, after lying vacant for 25 years, the Theatre  underwent a $44 million renovation transforming it into a contemporary performing  arts center through the vision and generosity of the Margaret E. Haas Fund. The Theatre is now a home for a growing number of beloved San Francisco Bay Area  artists and events including the Children’s Theatre Association of San Francisco and  a new annual holiday show called Panto in the Presidio. In addition to presenting  public performances and films, the Theatre offers free events for 7000+ public  school children and teachers each year, hosts community meetings, provides  classes and serves as a rental venue. Learn more by visiting   www.presidiotheatre.org or by following @presidiotheatre on Instagram.

About The Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics

Founded in 2012 as a joint initiative of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and Department of Performing Arts, The Laboratory for Global Performance  and Politics humanizes global politics through performance. With highly visible  national and global productions, partnerships, and initiatives, The Lab amplifies  rarely heard voices, and presents pressing societal challenges of our day by  engaging with artists and their stories.