"Travelling Light," the story of a famed American director's roots in a remote East European village, will screen March 3 at the Broadway Centre Theater as part of the UK's National Theatre Live broadcast performances. Credit: Courtesy National Theatre Live

Motl Mendl’s big film dream

Film and theater » Film’s early era gets another boost with Nicholas Wright’s “Travelling Light.”

By ben Fulton

| The Salt Lake Tribune

First Published Feb 27 2012 03:48 pm • Last Updated Feb 27 2012 03:48 pm

Michel Hazanavicius is riding his Oscar crest as Best Director, with his film "The Artist" as Best Picture. Similarly, Brian Selznick’s children’s book celebrating the legacy of early filmmaker Georges Melies, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, is at every child’s bed stand thanks to Martin Scorsese’s film adaptation.

So now’s as good a time as any to catch the current wave of homage to film’s golden era. Nicholas Wright’s play "Travelling Light" is the newest vehicle to take you there, and will be broadcast live noon, March 3, from a British stage to Salt Lake City’s own Broadway Centre Theater. It’s part of the UK’s National Theatre Live of stage productions filmed live in high definition, then broadcast through satellite to hundreds of cinema screens across the world.

The drama centers on Motl Mendle, a man held rapt by films power after witnessing images on his father’s early cinema camera in his small, Jewish village in Eastern Europe. With the help of a timber merchant named Jacob, plus an assistant named Anna who comes to help him document his village on film, Motl makes it to the big time. But what escaped him on his road to success?

"Travelling Light" recognizes the talent of Eastern European immigrants who shapes Hollywood’s legacy, and features award-winning actor Antony Sher as Jacob.

This live broadcast is three hours long, with a 20 minute break and a half-hour Q&A to follow hosted by Emma Freud and director Nicholas Hytner broadcast live afterward.

bfulton@sltrib.com

Twitter:@Artsalt

Facebook.com/nowsaltlake

—

National Theatre Live broadcast of "Travelling Light"

When » March 3, noon

Where » Broadway Centre Theater, 111 E. 300 South, Salt Lake City

Info » $8.75-$15. Call 801-585-9341 or visitwww.thc.utah.edu for more information.

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

About Reader Comments

---

Reader comments on sltrib.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Salt Lake Tribune. We will delete comments containing obscenities, personal attacks and inappropriate or offensive remarks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. If you see an objectionable comment, please alert us by clicking the arrow on the upper right side of the comment and selecting "Flag comment as inappropriate". If you've recently registered with Disqus or aren't seeing your comments immediately, you may need to verify your email address. To do so, visit disqus.com/account.
See more about comments here.