Theater productions offer satire, parody

Ben Elton's Gasping opens December 6.

he University's International Theatre Program presents two ongoing performances in December. The first is Ben Elton's Gasping, a satircal look at big business and capitalism gone awry. The second, Durang-Durang, is a group of three late-night platform plays, described by the theater program as "more than a stage reading, but less than a full production," to highlight the work of actor, playwright, and director Christopher Durang.

Gasping tells the story of Lockheart Industries, a company looking for a new product to make money. Elton, the satire's playwright, is considered to be one of the most successful comedic writers and stand-up comedians in Great Britain today. He has five novels, four plays, and several popular British television series to his credit. Gasping is Elton's first hit play.

Performances begin at 8 p.m. on Thursday, December 6, in Todd Theater in Todd Union and continue at 8 p.m. on December 7, 8, 13, 14, 15; and at 3 p.m. on December 9.

Durang-Durang is a collection of short works that are part of an evening of six plays presented at a Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City in 1994, according to Mervyn Willis, artistic director of the International Theatre Program and director of the production.

The production includes two of the orginal plays, A Stye of the Eye, a parody of Sam Shepard's A Lie of the Mind, and For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls, a parody of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, along with Woman Stand-Up, a short sketch by Durang.

The plays open at 11 p.m. on Friday, December 7, in the lobby of Todd Theater and continue at 11 p.m. on December 8, 13, 14, and 15.

Tickets for both productions can be purchased at the box office or reserved online at www.rochester.edu/College/ENG/theatre or by phone at x5-4088.

Maintained by University Public Relations
Please send your comments and suggestions to:
Public Relations.