Imaginary Beasts and Whistler In The Dark Present Macbett 11/3-19

imaginary beasts will open its 2011-2012 season "Gardens of Earthly Delight" with a production of Eugene Ionesco's Macbett, in a translation by Charles Marowitz, at the Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Black Box Theatre, running November 3 - November 19. The production will mark imaginary beasts' first as an Emerging Theatre Company at the BCA.

This fall heads will roll! Shakespeare's "Scottish Play" receives an absurdist makeover in this dark and tragic farce in which soldiers and kings are merely puppets, and no one is holding the strings. One tyrant begets another as wives transform into witches, military men behave like children at play, and little boys are crowned king-for-a-day. But in this fool's paradise, innocence is never what it seems, and from the battle to the butterfly field the only thing certain is that somebody must pay! You don't want to miss this wickedly comical-and bloody exciting-romp through Shakespeare's classic tragedy.

Artistic Director Matthew Woods helms the beasts' production, bringing to the stage his signature style of highly inventive physical theatre that The Hub Review called "simultaneously charming and challenging, and always visually arresting." Woods' vision-brought to life by an ensemble of fringe theatre favorites-blends clowning, movement, and puppetry arts into a grotesque spectacle that probes the meaning of identity and explores the nature of violence, war, and tyranny.

The beasts are excited to join forces with Whistler in the Dark Theatre for their first repertory collaboration as part of a month-long festival, Double, Double, Toil and Trouble: A Witches' Brew of Shakespeare, Re-Mixed. Whistler in the Dark will present Tom Stoppard's Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoot's Macbeth. In addition, the two companies, who are sharing many cast members and a few designers for this project, will co-host Monday off-night events to further delve into the exploration of Hamlet and Macbeth. This festival of twisted classics has something for everyone, so order your tickets today!

WHEN: November 3 - November 19, 2011 (running in our month-long repertory with Whistler in the Dark as part of "Double Double Toil and Trouble: A Witches' Brew of Shakespeare Re-Mixed!", opening October 27). Macbett plays November 3-6, 9, 17, and 19. Times vary. Check www.bostontheatrescene.com for details and complete schedule.

WHERE: Plaza Black Box Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont Street, Boston, MA

TICKETS: General admissions: $20; Students: $10. Inquire about other potential discounts.

BOX OFFICE: Phone: 617.933.8600; Web: www.bostontheatrescene.com

Cast: Erin Brehm, Nate Gundy, Amy Meyer, Joey C. Pelletier, Kiki Samko, Scott Sweatt, Michael Underhill, Mac Young
Director: Matthew W. Woods
Costume Design: PJ Strachmann
Light Design: Cotton Talbot-Minkin
Set Design: Mac Young

About the Boston Center for the Arts:
"The Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) is the nonprofit performing and visual arts center whose mission is to support working artists to create, perform, and exhibit new work; to develop new audiences; and to connect the arts to a broad public. For more information, visit www.bcaonline.org."

About Eugene Ionesco:
Eugene Ionesco (1909-1994) was a Romanian and French playwright who is widely recognized as one of the most prominent dramatists of the Theatre of the Absurd-or, as he preferred to call it, the Theatre of Derision. As such, Ionesco's plays depict the solitude and insignificance of human existence, exploding out how ridiculous the banality of the accepted world can be. Born in Romania to a Romanian father and French mother, he spent most of his childhood in France with his mother. He returned to Romania with his father in 1925 after his parents divorced, and attended university. He returned to France during the Second World War, where he remained for the rest of his life. A member of the Académie Française, Ionesco's absurd full-length and one-act plays are still performed throughout the world today.

Mission
imaginary beasts is a non-profit, non-equity theatre company serving the greater Boston area and the entire North Shore community. We are committed to bringing innovative yet accessible theatrical performances to the general public and to reaching diverse communities through the projects we develop. At heart we are an artist-based theatre company and it remains central to our mission to offer our company members - both traditional and non-traditional performance artists - a unique chance to explore and develop exciting theatre in an ongoing studio environment.

History
Since its inception the company has gone on to experience an incredible period of development. Significantly, a core group of artists emerged to form an official founding company; our artistic output increased from one major production per year to one to two per season; our company membership and our audiences continue to grow; and our geographic reach has broadened, giving us wonderful opportunities to share our work with greater numbers of people.

In 2007 imaginary beasts began to travel its main stage productions to the Greater Boston area for extended runs. Since then we have been able to introduce a growing audience to our inventive approach to theatre, performing at venues including the Charles Town Working Theatre, the Arsenal Center for the Arts, the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, and the Plaza Black Box Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts. Recently, imaginary beasts began a five-year initiative at the Boston Center for the Arts as part of their Emerging Theatre Company initiative.

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