The Renegade Company Announces Hamletmachine and Medeaplays, 4/25-5/5
By: Kelsey Denette
The Renegade Company, one of Philadephia's youngest theatre companies, has announced its fourth production. Fresh off its acclaimed run of The Amish Project, Renegade will bring to life Muller's Hamletmachine and Medeaplays. These works assess the state of 20th Century Germany and allude to the constant threat of nuclear annihilation. The Renegade Company aims to tell familiar stories in unfamiliar ways, and Hamletmachine and Medeaplays are wonderful additions to this mission."I WAS HAMLET/I AM NOT MEDEA". The Hamletmachine (die Hamletmaschine), was written in 1977. The end of the world has yet to come, the fall of the Berlin Wall has not yet occurred and a nuclear holocaust looms in the background. Borrowing text from Shakespeare, Andy Warhol, Beckett, Marx, Jung, and Brecht; Muller creates a eclectic and deeply poetic script. The Medeaplays were written between the 1950's-1980's. Medea is raped, her children are slain and revenge has to happen. For his version of the story, Muller has interwoven intensely condensed fragments of the Euripides and Seneca texts with pieces of dreams, free associations of modern landscapes, and mythical scenes. The production will employ a sensory approach (engaging the audience's five senses) and will feature music created or inspired by industrial rock groups including Throbbing Gristle, Kraftwerk, and Einstürzende Neubauten as well as the growing punk music scene in the GDR.This will be Renegade's first production at Underground Arts. Located in the Wolf Building at 1201 Callowhill, Underground Arts is a newly renovated 12,000 square foot venue that seeks to offer new artistic forms and endeaveors to showcase to the Philadelphia Community. Renegade's production will be one of the first fully-staged theatrical events in this exciting new space.The show will be directed by Renegade's Artistic Director Michael Durkin, who previously helmed A Prometheus Bound: A Folk Musical. The cast features notable Philadelphia actors Corinna Burns (recently of The Arden Theatre's August: Osage County and Inis Nua's Little Gem) and Griffin Stanton-Amiesen (Brat Productions' A 24-Hour Bald Soprano) in the title roles. Relative newcomers to the Philly scene, Kevin Chick (EgoPo's The Golem) and Dani Joy Owen (former company member of L.A.'s Filament Theatre), complete the ensemble in several supporting roles. Lauren Tracy (Production Manager at Plays and Players) serves as production stage manager, while the design team includes Michael Hollinshead, Daniel Kontz and Katelyn Moriah Smith (all of whom designed for Renegade's recent Amish Project).Performances begin April 25th and continue through May 5th. Tickets are available online at www.therenegadecompany.ticketleap.com/hamletmachine-medeaplays and all performances are at 7 p.m. For more information please visit www.therenegadecompany.weebly.com
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