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Members of the Aquila Theatre of London will give three presentations at the Williams Center for the Arts during a residency at Lafayette College from Thursday, November 11, through Saturday, November 13.
On Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. on the Williams Center stage, Lisa Carter and Louis Butelli will lead a techniques workshop for Lafayette theater students on the skills of physical theater. Area high school acting students interested in attending may call 610-330-5010 to inquire about reserving space. At noon on Friday in room 123 Williams Center, Anthony Cochrane will give a brown bag talk about the staging of Homer's two epics—the Iliad and the Odyssey—which Aquila has adapted for the modern stage. Lunch may be brought or purchased for $3. At 10 a.m. Saturday on the main stage, Cochrane will give a family workshop on how to enjoy the stories of Homer's the Iliad through the medium of theater.
The Aquila Theatre of London will present Shakespeare's King Lear at 8 p.m. Friday, November 12, as well as the Iliad at 8 p.m. Saturday, November 13. Both will take place on the Williams Center stage. Tickets for each cost $12 and may be purchased by calling the Williams Center box office at 330-5009. A limited number of special student tickets are available at just $4 for either Aquila performance. Inquire about this special offer for all secondary students in the region by calling the same number.
The events are part of Lafayette's 1999-2000 Roethke Humanities Festival, titled “Modern Appropriations of Homer's Odyssey,” which celebrates the epic that was this summer's common reading assignment for the Class of 2003. Held every two years, the Roethke Festival is named for Theodore Roethke (1908-63), a former Lafayette faculty member and noted poet of the 1940s and '50s. Roethke published several critically acclaimed volumes of poetry, including The Waking, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1954.
Robert Richmond, artistic director of the Aquila Theatre, is from Hastings on the south coast of England. He worked extensively in Scotland and the north of England before moving to his current London residence. In addition to working with Aquila, he spent four years with the Brunton Theatre in Musselburgh, Scotland. He also has acted in plays for numerous theater companies, including recent roles in Face, a new musical that toured in the United Kingdom; Cabaret, in London; and Ugly Sister, in the Liverpool Everyman Pantomime. Richmond also has appeared on Scottish Television and BBC television productions. In addition, he plays several instruments, and has composed and arranged music for radio and television.
The visit is made possible by funding from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, which has awarded an Arts Connect grant to Lafayette College and six other sites in the region where Aquila is touring.