Ducdame Ensemble Announces Complete Casting for the North American Premiere of THE ENCHANTMENT

Ducdame Ensemble will bring Victoria Benedictsson's Swedish classic, THE ENCHANTMENT, to North America for its first full production. This new adaptation by Tommy Lexen will be part of SubletSeries@HERE: a curated rental program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical support. THE ENCHANTMENT will run June 28th through July 22nd, 2017. Lucy Jane Atkinson is set to direct.

THE ENCHANTMENT revolves around Louise, a young woman from rural Sweden, who arrives in Paris at the height of the Belle Époque. Swept up in all this magical world has to offer, she soon falls under the spell of the city's most revered sculptor. Torn between liberation and tradition, fantasy and reality, Louise begins to question whether the life she has always known is really the life she wants to live.

Fiona Mongillo as "Louise" will become enchanted by the sculptor, "Alland," as played by Matthew DeCapua. Michael J. Connolly, Claire Curtis-Ward, Paul Herbig, Ariana Karp, Jane May, and Nicholas Koy Santillo will depict the various denizens of both Sweden and Paris, France. The story of THE ENCHANTMENT is considered to be semi-autobiographical. Benedictsson, a contemporary of Ibsen and Strindberg, is often pointed to as the real-life inspiration for both HEDDA GABLER and MISS JULIE.

Director Lucy Jane Atkinson will make her New York debut with THE ENCHANTMENT. She most recently directed the award winning production of Tristan Bernays' TESTAMENT at the Vault Festival in London. Her other UK directing credits include Nathan Wood's ROCKS (Arcola), Camilla Whitehill's 1001 (Southwark Playhouse), James Hamilton's THE LOST ART OF LOST ART (Edinburgh Fringe), as well as serving as Assistant Director for Les Enfants Terribles' Olivier Nominated ALICE'S ADVENTURES UNDERGROUND (Vaults). In 2015, Atkinson was selected for the Old Vic's 12 director's long-list, and she is a 2014 graduate of LAMDA's Post Graduate Director's course.

Ducdame Ensemble, a not-for-profit theatre company, was founded by graduates of the Masters Degree in Classical Acting program from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). The Ensemble's inaugural USA production, a new adaptation of Lope de Vega's FUENTE OVEJUNA, received a 2015 FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award. Their 2016 partnership with the International Shakespeare Center Santa Fe produced the world premiere of DAMES OF THRONES, THE WOMEN OF SHAKESPEARE'S HISTORIES; as well as THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, and an immersive TWELFTH NIGHT at the renowned Meow Wolf venue: House of Eternal Return. Ducdame Ensemble, known for productions that draw attention to currently relevant themes in classic texts, is pleased to be bringing Benedictsson's drama to New York for the first time. Their production of THE ENCHANTMENT has already been awarded grants from the Swedish Arts Council and the American Scandinavian Foundation.

Tickets for THE ENCHANTMENT are now on sale via HERE. For tickets and information, visit here.org or call 212-352-3101. HERE is located at 145 Sixth Avenue, NY, NY 10013. (Enter on Dominick, 1 block south of Spring). Ducdame Ensemble can be found online at www.ducdameensemble.com and on social media via @DucdameEnsemble.