Pontine Theatres Present THE GREEN SHAY, Now thru 5/13

From today, 27 April to 13 May, Pontine Theatres co-directors, Greg Gathers & Marguerite Mathews will bring their unique approach to literary adaptations to George Savary Wasson's early 20th century stories drawn from Cap'n Simeon's Store (1903) and The Green Shay (1905). Performances are Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 4pm and Sundays at 2pm. There is an addtional 8pm performance on Saturday 28 April.

The stories contained in George Savary Wasson's Cap'n Simeon's Store are based on the thoughts and language of Kittery Point fishermen of the late nineteenth century, and are set against the background of the village's general store.

The Green Shay describes the results of the decline of the coastal shipping economy in the mythical town of Kentle's Harbor, where there had been "a most alarming exodus of the young and strong, and an equally alarming stay at home propensity on the part of the weak and the worthless. It is natural selection the other end to--survival of the unfittest." The result, Wasson discovered, was drunkeness, immorality, illiteracy and poverty. Within a few weeks after its publication it had created an uproar. Much of The Green Shay is written in an old dialect so obscure that Wasson, an accomplished sailor, occasionally used footnotes to get his meaning across. Even the title is hard to decipher: An Isles of Shoals shay, it turns out, referred to a small sailing vessel used in the islands, located off Kittery.

Pontine's original adaptation borrows elements from both books to create a lively stage production featuring masks, traditional folk melodies, projected images of historic scenes, and a full cast of toy theatre figures who represent the books' major characters.

The plotline follows the tragic drowning of two brothers, Abram and Elmer Spurling, whose Green Shay is destroyed one stormy day. Suspicion falls on young Asa Kentle, and the residents of the harbor are thrown into conflict as they endeavor to solve the mysterious disaster.

Tickets are $24 and may be purchased online at www.pontine.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the door, based on availability, a half-hour prior to each performance. Pontine's West End Studio Theatre is located at 959 Islington Street, Portsmouth NH.

Information: info@pontine.org / 603-436-6660.

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