About this Event
NYU Washington, DC, in collaboration with the Embassy of the Czech Republic and EUNIC, presents a reading of Václav Havel’s one-act play Protest, featuring actors Drew Valins and David Millstone. The performance will be followed by a discussion exploring the play’s resonance today, including questions of freedom of expression and the responsibilities of individuals in a democracy.
Protest brings together two writers who have made very different choices under an authoritarian regime: one has embraced dissent and suffered the consequences, while the other has accommodated the system in an effort to preserve his career and comfortable life. What begins as a seemingly simple conversation unfolds into a compelling examination of compromise and courage, personal responsibility, and the difficult choices individuals face when confronted with injustice.
The performance is part of the EUNIC project The Art of Freedom: Voices of Expression from Europe to America and the Embassy of the Czech Republic’s series Truth and Love: Celebrating Václav Havel and Freedom of Expression.
Event Details:
Date/Time: November 18, 2026, at 6:30 pm (Doors open at 6 pm)
RSVP required: https://protestreading.eventbrite.com
Location: NYU Washington, DC
1307 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
Seating is first come, first served.
About the Actors:
Drew Valins (Vaněk) |
Drew Valins is an actor, playwright, solo performer, and co-founder of the theater company ARA. A 15-year member of Shakespeare in the Parking Lot & Bryant Park, he has performed roles including Puck, Iago, Autolycus, and Don Pedro, and has appeared on CBS’s Bull. His internationally presented solo work, Franz Fragments, explores the writings of Franz Kafka and earned him nominations for best actor and playwright at the Midtown International Theatre Festival. His play Lakeplay premiered at New York’s Wild Project in 2024, and his adaptation of Kafka’s Der Bau has been presented at the Czech Embassy in Washington, DC, and in Mexico City. He also starred in Michaela Lind’s climate-change film Where Is Now and wrote the short film Last Smoke, in which he stars.
David Millstone (Staněk) |
David Millstone is a New York-based stage and screen actor whose extensive theater career includes performances with the American Shakespeare Center, Springer Opera House, Arden Theatre Company, and Alliance for New Music-Theatre. His roles have ranged from Shakespeare’s Malvolio and Henry IV to Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon, and he has also appeared in Kafka’s Metamorphosis and Václav Havel’s Protest. On screen, his credits include The Blacklist, The Oval, and Wu-Tang: An American Saga, as well as several feature films. A graduate of the University of Houston’s MFA acting program, Millstone has increasingly expanded his work into film production alongside his acting career.
Truth and Love: Celebrating Václav Havel and Freedom of Expression
The program is part of the projectTruth and Love: Celebrating Václav Havel and Freedom of Expression, marking the 90th anniversary of Václav Havel’s birth, hosted by the Embassy of the Czech Republic and partners in fall 2026. Through theater, public dialogue, and youth creativity, the project honors Havel’s lifelong defense of human dignity and the power of truth.
The Art of Freedom: Voices of Expression from Europe to America.
The Art of Freedom: Voices of Expression from Europe to America is a dynamic cultural initiative by the EUNIC cluster in Washington, D.C., exploring freedom of expression through the power of the arts. Through artistic collaborations, public debates, and immersive experiences, European and American voices come together to reimagine freedom, creativity, and democracy across the Atlantic.
Event venue & nearby stays
NYU Washington, DC, 1307 L Street Northwest, Washington, United States
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