Insurgo’s New Erotic Adaptation of Shakespeares Twelfth Night Opens Jan. 21
Mistaken identity, gender, class, species…epic and deadly acts of nature…nobility bowed in chiking obsession…this is all part of Illyria, the elemental lost island that is the setting for Insurgo’s latest exploration into the other side of Shakespeare.
“The text is already inarguably, specifically erotic,” said John Beane, the show’s director. “The sexuality in the play is well covered – the possibly homosexual or at least muddled roots of Orsino’s affection for Viola, or between Viola and Olivia and others. The classically male fantasy of sexual conquest as worldly success. You have characters constantly clashing with status – domestic, political. Characters end up jailed, bound, we see much divesting of identity, stepping into servitude. The allusion drawn between the power a master holds over a servant for instance, and the classic male/female sexual dynamic is clearly present.”
Insurgo's new erotic Adaptation of Shakespeares Twelfth Night opens Jan. 21
“Our task in coming to Illyria, then, has been to recognize and understand as many of these threads as possible, and then forget them utterly as we experience Viola’s journey. Freud is not erotic. He’s just talking about sex. The erotic is something different. It is authentic, fleeting, alien. Infinite. It is personal.”
Erotic Shakespeare: Twelfth Night follows the journey of the young noble Viola, a twin shipwrecked on a lost island populated by aristocrats, rhapsodic fools and fiends – and the threshold in the heart that separates virtue from chaos.
Erotic Shakespeare: Twelfth Night is a comic musical fantasy epic. Original music has been composed by Arles Estes, with fights by Sean Critchfield. The cast features Insurgo Artistic Director Brandon McClenahan as a libertine Sir Toby, Adam Flores as Orsino, Megan Koumis (Hippolyta in Erotic Shakespeare: A Midsummer Nights Dream) as Olivia, and the Shakespearean debuts of Mary Catherine Harvey as Viola. It contains adult situations and some nudity.
CAST
Adam Flores (Orsino)
Mary Catherine Harvey (Viola)
Megan Koumis (Olivia)
Brandon McClenahan (Sir Toby)
Jamie Jones (Maria)
Alex Olson (Sir Andrew Aguecheek)
Glenn Heath (Malvolio)
Mick Axelrod (Feste)
Jason Nino (Sebastian)
Tony Foresta (Antonio)
Bob Gratrix (Fabian)
Brandon McClenahan (Sea Captain)
Jason Nino (Curio)
Bob Gratrix (Valentine)
CREATIVE TEAM
Director: John Beane
Stage Manager: Daneal Doerr
Sound Design and Music Composition: Arles Estes
Costume/Props: John Beane, Stacia Zinkevich, Amber Ward, Breon Jenay, Sydney Southers, Nicole Unger, Moose
Fight Choreography: Sean Critchfield
PERFORMANCES:
Jan 21-Feb 12
Fridays and Saturdays at 8PM
Erotic Heritage Museum
3275 Industrial Road
Tickets: $20
www.insurgotheater.org
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