Impetuous Theater Group Premieres AFTER DARWIN 5/7-5/24 At Access Theater
Impetuous Theater Group (John Hurley, Artistic Director) celebrates the bicentennial of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species with the New York premiere of After Darwin by Timberlake Wertenbaker (Tony Award-nominated Our Country's Good). The production runs May 7 through 24, 2009 at the Access Theater (380 Broadway) with a May 8, 2009 opening.
After Darwin begins in 1831 as naturalist Charles Darwin embarks on a South American journey with Robert FitzRoy, a scientist and fundamentalist Christian. The men's voyage aboard the HMS Beagle leads to Darwin embracing a radical vision of the world's evolution, and a fracture in his relationship with FitzRoy, who is determined for faith to win out. After Darwin unveils FitzRoy and Darwin's incredible story as well as the the struggles of a cast of modern actors to deal with the consequences of Darwin's theories during rehearsal of a play about the fateful journey.
After Darwin premiered at the Hampstead Theatre in the United Kingdom in 1998. The Belfast Telegraph raved that "Like Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, After Darwin leads its audience through difficult concepts, scarcely allowing us to catch our breath before offering another idea for our consideration. After Darwin is everything good theatre should be -thought provoking, quality entertainment."
John Hurley (12th Night of the Living Dead) directs. The cast includes Jonathan Tindle (FitzRoy/Ian), Benjamin Ellis Fine (Darwin/Tom), Heather Grayson (Millie) and Tarantino Smith (Lawrence).
The performance schedule is May 7 through 24, 2009, Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 pm, with additional performances on Monday, May 11 at 7:30 pm, Sunday May 17 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, May 24 at 3:00 pm at Access Theater (380 Broadway at White St.). Tickets are $18 at http://www.brownpapertickets.com.
Impetuous Theater Group (ITG) is a non-profit, member-based indie theater company dedicated to producing new work in New York with emerging artists through ensemble, creation of family, and education. Named "People of the Year" in 2005 by NYTheatre.com, ITG co-produced with Joe Cecala the SWIM SHORTS 3 festival. The company has presented Brian Macinnis Smallwood's smash hit 12th Night of the Living Dead, Janet Zarecor's The Chronological Secrets of Tim, the fifth annual 47:59 FESTIVAL, Fenway: Last of the Bohemians by Kelly McAllister & Lisa Margaret Holub with Boomerang Theatre Company, A Night Near the Sun by Don Zolidis, the hit comedy Office Sonata by Andy Chmelko (published in Plays and Playwrights 2007), and Venezuela at the 2005 New York International Fringe Festival.