April 26, 2011 - 16:01 AMT
Armenian theater troupe may miss performance in Boston due to visa problems

The Charlestown Working Theater announced that an Armenian theater troupe has been held up by a visa problem, forcing the cancellation of a scheduled preview performance Wednesday, April 27, of a dance/theater piece titled “Seventh Sense,” according to Boston.com.

“Our Armenian colleagues from the National Center for Aesthetics Small Theatre, based in Yerevan, were due to arrive this evening,” CWT artistic director Jennifer Johnson said in a statement. “However, they have not been granted the travel visas that were approved for them over a week ago. We are unclear whether this is a bureaucratic or political issue, and we have many people working to solve the problem.”

In her statement, Johnson said that members of Italy's Versilliadanza Cultural Association, which is collaborating with the Armenian troupe on “Seventh Sense,” are slated to arrive this evening, and “we hope to open on Thursday as planned.” Performances of “Seventh Sense” are scheduled for Thursday through Sunday. “We send our support to (artistic director) Vahan Badalyan and all our friends at NCA Small Theatre, and we maintain Vahan's attitude that humanity must prevail,” Johnson said.