Purdue News

March 5, 1999 Homer's 'The Odyssey' comes to Purdue WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The Aquila Theatre Company of London will return to Purdue University with a new stage adaptation of Homer's "The Odyssey" at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 24, in Loeb Playhouse in Stewart Center. Presented by Purdue Convocations, this theater production is made possible in part by the support of the Purdue Employee Federal Credit Union, Insight Communications and the Heartland Arts Fund. This classic tale, reaching through countless generations, still compels today as perhaps the original adventure/fantasy/science fiction thriller. Originally told in storyteller fashion, the tale focuses on the hero, Odysseus, who has been separated from his home and family in Ithaca by a 10-year war. The journey home is interrupted and delayed by obstacle upon obstacle, including supernatural creatures such as the Cyclops, Calypso, Circe, Charybdis, and more. As she waits faithfully for his return, his wife, Penelope, keeps eager suitors at bay by promising to choose when she has finished an intricate tapestry which she works constantly during the day and unravels secretly by night. Another 10 years have passed before Odysseus finally makes an unusual, but victorious, homecoming to Ithaca. This is the Aquila Theatre Company's second visit to Purdue. During the 1997-98 season, the company performed in productions of Aristophanes's "The Birds" and Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar." Renowned for superb renditions of classics, Aquila's aim is to breathe life into these texts, to free the spirit of the original and to present "vital, contemporary, and innovative work." (Plays & Players, London.) Adapted for the stage by Aquila's producing director, Peter Meineck, "The Odyssey" will incorporate storytelling, original live music, and the use of movement and masks. A company of seven actors will create 23 roles. "Colorful and vivid ... They filled the stage with ships and oceans, supernatural creatures and wild storms... [the play was] marked by fine acting performances," commented Gene Jones of The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C. During their two-day residency in the Greater Lafayette community, the Aquila Theatre Company also will conduct two private workshops ‹ one with Civic Youth Theatre and one with a Purdue Theatre acting class. In addition, an abbreviated performance for student audiences will occur at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 25. For information and reservations, contact the Convocations' offices at (765) 494-9712. A discussion with the artistic director of the company, Robert Richmond, has been rescheduled for 7 p.m. in Room 212, Stewart Center. It originally was scheduled to be a post-performance discussion. Richmond is a highly respected classics scholar. Tickets to the March 24 performance are $19 for the public, $13 for Purdue students, at campus box offices. Charge by phone at (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW. CONTACT: Sue Stevens, Convocations publicist, (765) 494-9712; snstevens@convos.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page