More
More
by William Shakespeare/George Wilkins
adaptation by Mark Wing-Davey and Ashil Lee
directed by Mark Wing-Davey
Opening September 26th, 2024
Pericles was one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, particularly in the seventeenth century. Its popularity continued in the eighteenth with an often much amended text. We know the text we have today is the product of many hands. The Arden edition also credits George Wilkins. It’s a charming and often sentimental journey-tale of loss, grief, and ultimate redemption. It harks back in time and language with its narrator, the pre-Shakespearean poet John Gower who is in effect relating the story for us. It glances at issues of sexuality and desire, governance and power - the “good monarch”, the base and the noble, courtly hypocrisy and proletarian honesty or prejudice. It’s a great company play, requiring sharp yet truthful immediacy of characterization.
This version springs from a production in La Pietra Florence with Jim Calder’s Continuum company that I was fortunate enough to work on.
This 2024 text is changed somewhat more though. In certain sequences it gently refracts the story through a contemporary lens. I’ve been thrilled to work with the young playwright Ashil Lee, who brings a delightfully irreverent yet perceptive sensibility to the themes of the piece. It’s an adventure in itself.
Featuring: Akaina Ghosh, David Darrow, Ra'Mya Aikens, Nneka Damali, Griffin Carpenter, Mehr Dudeja, Noah Michal, Andrés Nicolás Chaves, Will Conard
Set Design: Joyce He
Costume Design: Garvin Hastings
Lighting Design: PJ Davis
Seating is limited in The African Grove Theatre and there is NO LATE SEATING. Please be advised that tickets not picked up 5 minutes prior to curtain may be released to the waitlist.
You may Reserve Tickets starting Tuesday, 9/10 at 12pm
If you require additional accommodations, please contact ef81@nyu.edu for assistance.