This preview has been provided by Duke Performances.
Duke Performances will present Fiasco Theater’s production of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, February 2, 3, and 4, at 8 pm in Reynolds Theater in the Bryan Center on Duke’s West Campus. Arriving in Durham after an acclaimed extended off-Broadway run, Fiasco Theater’s Cymbeline is — according to The New Yorker “a playful and inspired work of art.” This will be the first time Fiasco’s Cymbeline has been produced outside New York and is the only presentation currently planned for 2012.
Since 2007, the young Fiasco Theater company has staged energetic productions of Shakespeare’s plays, including 12th Night and Two Gentlemen of Verona. Their production of Cymbeline just closed an 18-week run in New York’s Barrow Street Theater and received enthusiastic reviews. Ben Brantley of the New York Times calls it “the most truly enchanting Cymbeline I’ve seen. Exquisite.”
Cymbeline is the love story of Imogen, daughter of the king, and Posthumus, an orphan and commoner. With their romance condemned by the king, Posthumus and Imogen face deceit, subterfuge, and betrayal as they wind their way through the elaborate plot to realize their love. In Fiasco’s hands, the play becomes a wild ride of music, comedy, and drama that keeps the audience on the edge of their seat.
Directed by Noah Brody and Ben Steinfeld, the production features Jessie Austrian, Noah Brody, Paul L. Coffey, Andy Grotelueschen, Ben Steinfeld, and Emily Young.
The company will be in residence at Duke for two weeks following their performance of Cymbeline. During that time, they will begin the work of setting Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, on the company; Fiasco will present their progress on Measure for Measure as a workshop reading on Friday and Saturday, February 17 & 18, at 8 pm in the Sheafer Lab Theater in the Bryan Center.
In addition, the company will participate in a series of open to the public and free artists-in-residence events. Full details regarding residency events can be found on Duke Performances’ web site: www.dukeperformances.org.
Tickets available by contacting the University Box Office by phone at 919-684-4444 or in person in the top level of Duke’s Bryan Center on West Campus, Monday to Friday, 11 am to 6 pm. Tickets also available online at www.dukeperformances.org.
