Aurora Extends BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE Through 12/20

Due to popular demand, Aurora Theatre Company announces that it will add a second extension week of performances of the West Coast Premiere of Fraser Grace's provocative BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE. Jon Tracy, who directed Aurora's productions of Gidion's Knot and The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, helms BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE, featuring L. Peter Callender (The Soldier's Tale, Permanent Collection), Dan Hiatt (Wittenberg, The Arsonists), Leontyne Mbele-Mbong (African-American Shakespeare Company, Lamplighters), and Adrian Roberts (TheatreWorks, California Shakespeare Theater). BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE plays now through December 20 (added performances: Tuesday, December 16, 7pm; Wednesday, December 17, 8pm; Thursday, December 18, 8pm; Friday, December 19, 8pm; Saturday, December 20, 8pm) at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. For tickets ($32-50) and more information the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org.

First produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2005, BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE was inspired by newspaper reports that Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, severely depressed and convinced he was haunted by the ghost of a dead comrade, sought treatment from a white psychiatrist. Shedding light on Mugabe's demons, the sessions soon become a precarious power struggle between doctor and patient. Called "[a] taut meditation on guilt and power" by TimeOut NY, and about which The New York Times said, "In Mr. Grace's capable hands, Mugabe rightfully deserves a seat alongside Macbeth, Richard III and other tragic, power-siphoning Shakespearean antiheroes," this riveting and incendiary new play explores the conflict between African and European values and delves into the mind of one of the world's most vilified leaders.

Robert Hurwitt of the San Francisco Chronicle called BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE "smartly staged and performed... [an] incisive production," noting "The invaluable L. Peter Callender gives us a dictator-president as an old, perhaps infirm man who may brook no opposition but knows how to bide his time and play his cards close to his chest... Callender's commands are made with a dangerously subdued understatement, a calm containing implications of frightening storms." Karen D'Souza at the San Jose Mercury News/Bay Area News Group agreed, declaring BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE "engrossing... penetrating... Adroitly directed by Jon Tracy and starring two of the region's most insightful actors," noting "[Actor L. Peter] Callender imbues Mugabe with a weight and bearing that suggests Lear or Richard III." Jean Schiffman at the San Francisco Examiner found the production to be "Much more than a character study, [Breakfast with Mugabe] - with its freighted and often electrifying dialogue, historically broad-ranging perspective and theatrical imagination - proves intense and engrossing," while Chad Jones from Theater Dogs was full of praise for the performances in BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE, noting "[Actors L. Peter] Callender and [Dan] Hiatt, are each at the top of their considerable game, which is saying something. They know their Shakespeare and they know naturalism, so the balance they create is just about perfect for this 100-minute show down." Cy Ashley Webb of Stark Insider gave BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE "4 out of 5 stars" and dubbed the play " Smashing...The Aurora consistently brings us smart, intelligent theatre - and Breakfast with Mugabe is no exception. This cast - and director Jon Tracy - bring it off brilliantly," with Richard Wolinsky at KPFA calling the production "masterful."

About his work, playwright Fraser Grace said "You try to be accurate and not wildly misrepresent people or their views, but most of all, I try to make sure that what I produce is a genuine drama; the real, living character and their dilemmas have to be explored in a genuinely dramatic way, a way that provokes us to question our assumptions about them without doling out simple judgments."

Grace happened upon an article in the Times of London around the time of Zimbabwe's tense 2002 election. The report said Robert Mugabe was holed up in the state house being pursued by the malevolent spirit of a dead comrade and that he had called on a white psychiatrist for help. Whether the article was true or not, the concept and the post-colonial puzzle it presented, piqued Grace's interest. "When Mugabe was in the news, he was portrayed entirely as a monster. And my starting position was that monsters are made, not born," said Grace. In BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE, Grace "illuminates the tension between modern ideas and ancient beliefs, and questions how a man who was once oppressed becomes an oppressor." Ultimately, the play is about the complex nature of the mind and a country in crisis; it is a powerful reminder of the lasting impact of colonialism and dictatorships, and those who still struggle under oppressive conditions.

Following BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE, Barbara Damashek (American Buffalo, Fat Pig) returns to Aurora Theatre Company in January to direct the Bay Area Premiere of Nicky Silver's viciously hilarious Broadway hit THE LYONS. The company pays homage to Lanford Wilson with "The Talley Trilogy" in April with the Pulitzer Prize-winning TALLEY'S FOLLY, directed by Joy Carlin in Harry's UpStage, followed by FIFTH OF JULY, helmed by Aurora Theatre Company Artistic Director Tom Ross. As a special addition to the 23rd season, and completing the trilogy, Aurora will present readings of Wilson's rarely performed play TALLEY & SON in April, directed by Jennifer King. Aurora Theatre Company closes its 23rd season in June with the Bay Area Premiere of Lisa D'Amour's wicked Obie-winning satire DETROIT, directed by Josh Costello.

Voted Best Theater Company in 2012 by SF Weekly, Aurora Theatre Company continues to offer challenging, literate, intelligent stage works to the Bay Area, each year increasing its reputation for top-notch theater. Located in the heart of the Downtown Berkeley Arts District, Aurora Theatre Company, declared "one of the best regional theaters around" by 7x7 magazine, has been called "one of the most important regional theaters in the area" and "a must-see midsize company" by the San Francisco Chronicle, while The Wall Street Journal has "nothing but praise for the Aurora." The Contra Costa Times stated "perfection is probably an unattainable ideal in a medium as fluid as live performance, but the Aurora Theatre comes luminously close," while the San Jose Mercury News affirmed Aurora Theatre Company is "arguably the finest small theater in the Bay Area," and the Oakland Tribune stated "it's all about choices, and if you value good theater, choose the Aurora."
FOR CALENDAR EDITORS:

Due to popular demand, Aurora Theatre Company announces that it will add a second extension week of performances of the West Coast Premiere of Fraser Grace's provocative BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE. Jon Tracy, who directed Aurora's productions of Gidion's Knot and The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, helms BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE, featuring L. Peter Callender (The Soldier's Tale, Permanent Collection), Dan Hiatt (Wittenberg, The Arsonists), Leontyne Mbele-Mbong (African-American Shakespeare Company, Lamplighters), and Adrian Roberts (TheatreWorks, California Shakespeare Theater). Inspired by newspaper reports that Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, severely depressed and convinced he was haunted by the ghost of a dead comrade, sought treatment from a white psychiatrist, BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE explores the conflict between African and European values and delves into the mind of one of the world's most vilified leaders.

To post a comment, you must register and login.