The Golden Masque of Agamemnon by John Wiles
The Golden Masque of Agamemnon was originally written for young people – secondary-school pupils – to perform. Its English is accordingly reasonably simple and very accessible. We are confronted with a rich panoply of scenes: war and peace, sacrifice and murder(s), ritual and riot, music and massacre, humour and hatred. No knowledge of the events and central figures of the Iliad or Orestia is required – Agamemnon’s servant helps us along the way, filling us in as necessary – although a basic idea of the fundamentals will enrich the experience! A schools pack is being prepared, with background information, thumbnail sketches of the main characters, and questions for in-class discussion before and after a performance; if you are interested, please contact Michael Claridge (claridge@uni-bremen.de) in mid-June.
In writing the play, John Wiles consciously emphasised the international, multicultural relevance of the fundamental concepts behind Aeschylus’ Oresteia. We have taken this a stage farther, creating a crossover between central aspects of ancient Greek theatre with the rhythms, rituals, masks and dress of African cultures to form an extremely unusual experience: as usual, The Parlement of Foules are using a ‘traditional’ play to push the envelope of ‘normal’ theatre.
A
poster [http://simo.uni-bremen.de/anglistik/kultur/pdf/MasqueAgPoster.pdf]
, a
schools pack [http://simo.uni-bremen.de/anglistik/kultur/pdf/MasqueAgSchoolsPacknopix.pdf]
and a
programmes [http://simo.uni-bremen.de/anglistik/kultur/pdf/MasqueAgProgramme.pdf]
are available for download.
For further information please contact Michael Claridge at
claridge@uni-bremen.de [mailto:claridge@uni-bremen.de]
Performance details:
When
Monday, 9th – Friday, 13th July 2012
Doors open at 6.30 p.m., performances begin at 7.00 p.m.
Where
Theaterhaus Schnürschuh
Buntentorsteinweg 145
28201 Bremen.
Tel. 0421-55 54 10
Email:
karten@schnuerschuh-theater.de [mailto:karten@schnuerschuh-theater.de]
| Web:
www.schnuerschuh-theater.de [http://www.schnuerschuh-theater.de/]
Public transport: No. 4 or 5 tram, Gneisenaustr. tram stop.