Theatre St. Thomas, Featuring Solo Chicken Productions’ the coop, Presents: The Bacchae by Euripides.
Theatre St. Thomas Media Release
Fredericton, NB – ‘We’ve had a blessed hunt.’ The iconic Greek God Dionysus will soon take the stage at the Black Box Theatre and demand that we witness what happens when hedonism and repression engage in a fierce battle. The Bacchae, a classic Greek tragedy that is shockingly relevant to our present day struggles, compels us to think about the consequences of subscribing to a narrow world view, be it sex, drugs, and rock and roll, or a puritanical ethos. Theatre St. Thomas teams up with Solo Chicken Productions’ physical theatre company, the coop, to retell this classic tale using the physical body and voice as the foundation, with a liberal sprinkling of corsets and heels.
Last fall, St. Thomas University’s Department of English hosted Solo Chicken artists Lesandra Dodson, Lisa Anne Ross, and the coop company members as artists in residence on the St. Thomas campus. As part of the residency, Lisa Anne Ross and the coop members worked to create the movement score for The Bacchae with student cast members. The production, which is now in the midst of rehearsals, is using this movement score as a creative compass for the show and the experience is proving to be an exciting opportunity for all involved. The coop company members are sharing their physical theatre knowledge with their TST counterparts and the students are thriving in this demanding and creative atmosphere.
Directed by Solo Chicken Productions’ Lisa Anne Ross, with the coop company member Alexa Higgins as assistant director, the production has been a collaborative affair, with cast members developing their rich movement vocabulary and helping to drive the direction of the staging. Ross notes that, ‘Each rehearsal is filled with remarkable discoveries as cast members connect movement and text to create a new physical language unique to this production.’
Don’t miss this vibrant, compelling, and at times horrifying journey.
The Bacchae by Euripides | February 10-13, 2016 | Black Box Theatre | 7:30 p.m. | Full event info
