Shakespeare Marathon: 38 Plays In Five Days

William Shakespeare died 400 years ago this year, leaving us 38 plays and many of the idioms we use every day. To recognize (celebrate seems like a bad word to use in relation to a death anniversary) the occasion, the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC is putting some of it's copies of the First Folio on tour. The First Folios contain 36 of Shakespeare's plays and are the source of much of our understanding of his work. A copy of the First Folio will be on display at the North Carolina Museum of History in May, and as a lead-up to that the museum is hosting a marathon reading of all the Bard's plays, back to back, and Brunswick Little Theatre is proud to be participating!

BLT will be performing a reading of Pericles, Prince of Tyre at high noon on Wednesday, April 27 at the NC Museum of History. The marathon is being organized by Burning Coal Theatre Company in Raleigh and includes professional, amateur, college and high school theater troupes. From the Wilmington area, BLT is joined by Thalian Association, performing The Taming of the Shrew, and Dram Tree Shakespeare, performing Hamlet. We are proud and thrilled to be in such company, and to be working with the North Carolina Museum of History on this project.

Pericles may not be one of the Shakespeare plays you read in high school or college. It's regarded by some critics as one of his worst works, though he is thought to have written only the final three of five acts. But in its time, the early to mid 1600s, Pericles, Prince of Tyre was one of Shakespeare's most performed and most popular plays.

It's easy to see why this one was a hit with the groundlings. Pericles has all the things pop culture of the time, and in some cases even today, loves. The baddies are unrepentantly and unambiguously bad and the good guys and gals are beyond reproach. The story features murder and jealousy and storm-wracked ships and pirates and comical owners of a house of ill repute. There are good and bad kings and queens, loyalty and betrayal, and a happy ending where everyone reaps the rewards or punishments of their behavior.  It's not a hard story to follow or understand and it seems that it was written to do just what it did, entertain the masses.

Pericles, Prince of Tyre, is as accessible as Shakespeare comes, making it a great entrance into Elizabethan drama for Brunswick Little Theatre. We will be reading rather than performing, with  minimal props or costumes. We will need up to a couple dozen actors/readers for this performance, and YOU may be just what we need. Participants will need an open mind and a willingness to learn about the play and and its author. We'll be traveling up to Raleigh for the reading the morning of Wednesday, April 27, either individually or via car pool, so actors will need to be able to get the day off and find transportation. With these  qualifications, we are open to all. Just drop an email to Jeffrey Stites at jgstites@yahoo.com if you are interested or want more information.