The Actors From the London Stage Present Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" to Wellesley, October 9 – October 11
WELLESLEY, Mass. – Five of England’s top Shakespearean actors bring the Bard’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing to vivid life for three performances only at Wellesley College at 7 PM on October 9, 10 and 11. Free and open to the public. Diana Chapman Walsh Alumnae Hall, 106 Central St., Wellesley College, 781-283-2000, wellesley.edu/theatre/currentseason
The Much Ado About Nothing ensemble includes tour veterans Paul O’Mahony and Jack Whitam, with Al Barclay, Claire Redcliffe and Georgina Strawson completing the cast.
Much Ado About Nothing’s Beatrice and Benedick are two of Shakespeare’s most memorable characters in this tale of mismatched love, loss, and witty repartee. Presented in their signature minimalist style, the troupe delights with their verbal, physical and theatrical dexterity.
The Actors From The London Stage (AFTLS) is one of the oldest and most respected touring Shakespeare companies in the world. Coming from such prestigious venues as the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre of Great Britain and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, these classically trained actors are equally dedicated to presenting first-rate professional performances at American colleges and universities, and to working with students to bring Shakespeare’s work alive. Part of their stated mission is to “get students up out of their chairs and act with them to learn how Shakespeare’s texts become scripts, words become actions and actions become meaning.”
The group will be at Wellesley for a weeklong residency, October 6-11, 2014. In addition to performing, they will teach workshops for Wellesley’s Theatre Studies Program and English department students during the week.
This will be AFTLS’s ninth visit to the Wellesley campus. Past productions include the IRNE award winning production of Othello, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, King Lear, The Winter’s Tale, Macbeth and Hamlet. For more information about AFTLS’s production of Much Ado About Nothing, visit http://shakespeare.nd.edu/actors-from-the-london-stage/Free parking is available in the Davis Parking Facility. Directions and a map of the College are online at http://web.wellesley.edu/map/ Wheelchair accessible. For disability services contact Jim Wice at 781-283-2434 or jwice@wellesley.edu.
The Wellesley College Theatre Studies Program and the Department of English, with the generous support of the Committee on Lectures and Cultural Events, the Frye Martinson Fund, the Finnegan Fund, the Wilson Fund, the Harman Cain Family Foundation, the Treves Fund, and the Ruth Nagel Jones Fund, present these free performances. For more information, visit wellesley.edu/theatre or call 781-283-2000.
ABOUT WELLESLEY COLLEGE & THE ARTS
The Wellesley College arts curriculum and the highly acclaimed Davis Museum and Cultural Center are integral components of the College’s liberal arts education. Departments and programs from across the campus have enlivened the community with world-class programming — classical and popular music, visual arts, theatre, dance, author readings, symposia and lectures by some of today’s leading artists and creative thinkers — many of which are free and open to the public.
Located just 12 miles from Boston and accessible by public transit, Wellesley College’s idyllic surroundings provide a nearby retreat for the senses and inspiration that lasts well after a visit.
Since 1875, Wellesley College has been a leader in providing an excellent liberal arts education for women who will make a difference in the world. Its 500-acre campus near Boston is home to 2,300 undergraduate students from all 50 states and 65 countries.