THE GREAT CELESTIAL COW Premieres at Burning Coal Theatre in April

The Burning Coal Theatre Company is proud to present Sue Townsend's The Great Celestial Cow, a tale of a family from India who migrate to the UK but can't quite leave their homeland behind. Or their cow. Directed by Sonia Desai, The Great Celestial Cow will play at Burning Coal's Murphey School Auditorium in downtown Raleigh from April 11th through 28th, 2019. There will be a "pay what you can day" on Sunday, April 14th.

Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays, April 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26 and 27th at 7:30 pm and Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28th at 2 pm. Tickets are available now for $25, with a senior discount (65+) at $20, a student, teachers, and active military discount at $15 and student rush tickets for $5 (if available) at curtain. Those interested can secure their tickets online at burningcoal.org or by calling the box office at 919.834.4001.

The Great Celestial Cow tells an all too familiar tale of an immigrant family struggling to get acclimated to a bizarre (to them) new culture which has little or no interest in their ages old customs, beliefs or traditions. When her husband goes on ahead to the UK to earn enough money to bring his family over, Sita discovers something unexpected: self-reliance. She grows strong, and develops a strong relationship with her milk cow, the single source of sustenance and income for her while her husband is away. But, after five years, when her husband sends for her and their children, she finds something even more unexpected: that she has come to love Princess, her cow, and doesn't want to leave her behind. Sita's heroic journey, and her battle to overcome the cultural differences between her old life and her new forms the basis for what Drama Online calls a "comic, moving, feminist" masterpiece.

Of The Great Celestial Cow, the Guardian said it is "... a little gem... Its very funny, touching, telling and moving ... here is a story with much to say... I kept bursting into spontaneous applause."

The play premiered at the Leicester Haymarket Studio in England, before going on a nationwide tour, and finished its run at London's Royal Court Theatre in 1984.

Sue Townsend was an English novelist and playwright who lived in Leicester, England (the location of much of The Great Celestial Cow). She wrote The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Songbook, The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole, The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole and Rebuilding Coventry. Her plays included Womberang, Dayroom, Bazaar and Rummage and a stage version of The Secretary Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 ¾.

Sonia Desai is a recent PhD recipient at the University of California Irvine. Her research interests include the interactions between gender studies and Early Modern drama. Her research project looks at the phenomenology of gender on the Early Modern Stage through the plays of dramatists such as William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson. Looking at theatre as a vehicle for cultural change and creation, she is conducting research in the way that gender was constructed and performed during the Early Modern period, particularly through a phenomenological lens. She is interested in the way that gender was, and continues to be, experienced in the worlds of the play and the theatre.

This production boasts a cast entirely from the Triangle area. Most are new to Burning Coal's stage. Seema Kukreja will play Sita, and nine other actors will play 30 roles, including Anu Virkar, Darius Shafa, Deepak Dhar, Kelly Buynitzky, Maneesha Lassiter, Pimpila Violette Priya Singh, Snehal Bhagwat and Joey DeSena. The scenery designer is Elizabeth Newton of Raleigh. Lighting is by Maranda DaBusk of Atlanta, GA. Sound is by Raleigh's Juan Isler with props by Raleigh's Danielle James. The costume designer is Neena Raj of Cary, NC and the assistant to the director is Brennan Tutterow of London, England. The technical director is Raleigh's Greg Osbeck and the scenic artist is Meredith Riggan of Durham. Rebecca Bossen of Raleigh will be handling dialects and Sara Thompson of Raleigh is the production dramaturg. Gabby Abrams of Holly Springs is the Production Stage Manager with assistance from Raleigh's Courtney Pisano and John Capetanos.

To post a comment, you must register and login.