The Forge Presents POE, Opens 9/11

In 1849, writer, poet and literary critic Edgar Allan Poe disappeared for six days. He was discovered in Baltimore wearing strange clothes, deliriously repeating the name "Reynolds" and died before anyone could discover what had happened to him. In the debut play by Jeff Clark, audiences at The Forge will be given A True Account of the Regrettable Circumstances and Mysterious Demise of Edgar Allan Poe (or simply POE for short).

In POE, the gloomy writer is invited to the house of a mysterious businessman named Reynolds and becomes embroiled in a situation much like one of his own stories: a quirky mix of madness, murder and a talking raven.

Clark - a local improviser, actor, stand-up comedian and writer - was approached by Artistic Director of The Court Theatre Ross Gumbley in late 2007 about writing a play for The Forge. "We kicked a few ideas around and decided to develop a fictional comedy based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe," says Clark.

In reading Poe's work, however, Clark found that truth was much stranger than fiction. "Poe's life - and bizarre death - was too great an opportunity to pass up." Thus the writer entered the script as a character and Clark discovered "the unique joys of writing a hypothetical semi-biographical horror-comedy mash-up".

Associate Artistic Director of The Court Lara Macgregor directs POE. "It's been an absolute pleasure to work on this new and exciting script. We've been having far too much fun in the rehearsal room." Patrick Duffy - a Court Jester, costume designer, World of Wearable Art Finalist and self-described "Swiss-army knife of the theatre world" has added "Set Designer" to his resume: building a gothic backdrop filled with unexpected shocks and delights for the audience.

Gregory Cooper returns to Christchurch to play Poe, a role he has enjoyed taking on. "Poe has been described as a depraved drug-addled madman so I'm doing my best to really inhabit the role. Whether this will help me learn my lines is another matter" says Cooper. Tim Bartlett and Elsie Edgerton-Till round out the cast, playing the strange characters Poe encounters.

While Clark has written a number of short works for the stage (as well as a number of television and film projects) this is the writer's first full-length play. "To be debuting as a playwright at The Forge is a fantastic opportunity and the support I've had from The Court has been great. Of course, it's been an emotional roller-coaster - from the heights of excitement to Poe-like despair - but I'll be as excited as everyone else to see POE when it opens on 11 September".

Edgar Allan Poe was born in 1809, making 2009 the bicentenary of the writer's birth. October 7 will be the 160th anniversary of Poe's death.
Jeff Clark has adapted a number of children's stories into plays, worked as chief writer on children's television series "Patch's Place" and won a number of scriptwriting awards while at university (including "Best Comedy" at the 1999 National Uni Comedy Competition). More recently he wrote the screenplay and lyrics for the 2007 independent musical feature film MEN SHOULDN'T SING and was a co-writer and actor in "NEW FISH"; National Runner-Up in the 2009 V Energy 48HOURS Furious Filmmaking Competition. He has been a member of The Court Jesters since 1995.
Lara Macgregor directed THE TUTOR at The Forge earlier this year, and will be directing ON THE ROCKS immediately following POE.
Gregory Cooper was a member of The Court Jesters until 2002; he is now based in Auckland but has returned to Christchurch to perform as well as direct a number of Court productions.
Elsie Edgerton-Till appeared in Clark's first short play, THE CONSISTENCY OF BEING FRANK, at the University of Canterbury. The play won "Best Original Script" at the UC "Madcap" Awards.
Tim Bartlett has appeared in a number of plays at The Court Theatre: in 2009 he has already performed in THE GREAT GATSBY, HEARTBREAK HOUSE and THE GODS OF WARM BEER.

The Forge at The Court Theatre, 20 Worcester Blvd, The Arts Centre, Christchurch

Performance Dates: Friday 11 September - Saturday 10 October

Performance times: 6:30pm Monday / Thursday; 8pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday (no show Sundays).

Tickets: Adults $30, Seniors $25, Tertiary Students $20, Group discount (10+) $20, 30U Club $12 (Mon-Wed)

Bookings: The Court Theatre, 20 Worcester Boulevard; 963 0870 or www.courttheatre.org.nz