Deity Descending: The Bacchae, with Alan Cumming, Begins Lincoln Center Festival Run July 2
By Adam Hetrick
02 Jul 2008
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Alan Cumming in The Bacchae
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| photo by Gordon Terris | The National Theatre of Scotland's production of The Bacchae, starring Tony Award winner Alan Cumming, makes its North American premiere as part of the Lincoln Center Festival July 2.
The new David Greig translation of Euripides' work will play through July 13 at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater. Featuring a gospel-singing female chorus and Cumming descending onto the stage as a rock-star-like Dionysus, the production has been described as a Bacchae for the 21st century.
Director John Tiffany's cast also features John Bett (Tiresias), Paola Dionisotti (Agave), Ewan Hooper (Cadmus) and Cal MacAninch (Pentheus). The Bacchae are played by Sally Amaka Okafor, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Hazel Holder, Melissa Keyes, Lisa Davina Phillip, Sarah Quist, Ann-Marie Roberts, Jessika Williams and Emi Wokoma.
According to Lincoln Center, "Dionysus arrives at Thebes to claim godly recognition from a disbelieving, ascetic King Pentheus, opening the door to a sardonic, contemporary look at the battle between hedonism and repression."
The creative team for The Bacchae includes production design by Miriam Buether, lighting design by Colin Grenfell, sound design by Chris Shutt, original musical composition by Tim Sutton and choreography and associate direction by Steven Hoggett.
Following its premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2007, The Bacchae made a West End transfer for a limited run in September 2007.
Additional programming for the Lincoln Center Festival includes Alois Zimmermann's epic staging of the opera Die Soldaten (July 5-12), choreographer William Forsythe's Impressing the Czar (July 17-20), and award-winning musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson in Homeland (July 22-26).
A concert featuring Damon Albarn (and guests Afel Bocoum, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Kokanko Sata, Lobi Traore, and Simone White) is scheduled for July 12; Goran Bregovic and his Wedding and Funeral Band will perform July 8-9.
Theatre offerings also include Gate/Beckett from the Gate Theater of Dublin, featuring Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson and Barry McGovern (July 16-27).
Tickets for all Lincoln Center Festival programming are available by phoning (212) 721-6500 or by visiting www.lincolncenter.org.
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Alan Cumming in The Bacchae
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| photo by Richard Campbell |
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