APPLETON, WIS. — London-based AandBC Theater Company brings its unique version of “The Tempest” to the Lawrence University Wriston Art Center amphitheatre Friday, Oct. 5 as part of the 2007 Shakespeare on the Fox program.
The two-and-one-half hour outdoor performance begins at 6:30 p.m. General admission tickets are available at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in downtown Appleton (920-730-3760). Tickets also will be sold on site the night of the performance.
Prior to the show, members of AandBC Theater Company will present a pre-performance lecture on “non-traditional theatre” at 5 p.m. in the Wriston Art Center auditorium. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Combining improvised staging and direct audience contact, AandBC Theater Company’s production of Shakespeare’s popular tale of revenge and forgiveness takes place beneath a large, illuminated helium balloon that casts a moon-like island of light that defines the performance space. Audience members become part of the set by sitting on padded oil drums within the lighted circle.
Founded in 1989, AandBC Theater Company has performed at the Edinburgh Festival and the Bath Shakespeare Festival, among others. During an international tour that has taken the production to the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Romania, Russia and Trinidad, AandBC has performed “The Tempest” at castles, courtyards, churches, public parks, the middle of a rain forest and on a riverbank.
The Lawrence performance is one of 11 scheduled throughout the Fox Valley by AandBC Theater Company during a two-week residency in the area.
Lawrence is one of eight participating members in the Shakespeare on the Fox partnership, a coalition working to enrich and enliven the communities of the Fox Valley through a series of performances, workshops, demonstrations and other interactive programs designed to make Shakespeare accessible to everyone.
For a complete list of activities associated with the 2007 Shakespeare on the Fox program, visit http://www.shakespeareonthefox.uwosh.edu/schedule.php.
