Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

February 20 & 21, February 27 & 28, 2009
8:00 PM
Johns Auditorium

The Hampden-Sydney College Department of Fine Arts spring production, William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, opens on Friday, February 20.

Twelfth Night, one of Shakespeare’s best loved comedies, about confused identities, sexes, and classes has been delighting audiences since its first performances in London in 1602.  Amazingly, 407 years later the intrigues, shenanigans, and feelings of the beautifully written characters still ring true.

The play centers on Viola, who at the start of the action has been separated from her twin brother, Sebastian, in a shipwreck.  She finds herself on the island of Illyria, dresses up as a man, and serves Duke Orsino as his emissary of love to capture the heart of beautiful Countess Olivia.  Unfortunately, Viola herself falls in love with Orsino while Olivia falls for Viola in disguise.  Realizing the pickle she’s in Viola opines, “O, time, thou must untangle this, not I.  It is too hard a knot for me to untie.”  With the arrival of Sebastian all is set to rights, but not before a great deal more of the action is thrown into confusion. Full Story... 

Bertolt Brecht's THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE
October 31, November 1, 7, and 8, 2008
8:00 PM
Johns Auditorium

The Hampden-Sydney College Department of Fine Arts fall production, Bertolt Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle, opened on Friday, October 31.

The play begins with a hearing to determine ownership of a valley in the post-World War II Soviet Georgia. In the play within the play a singer tells the story of a royal child abandoned in the heat of civil war. A servant girl, who has sacrificed everything to protect the child, is made to confront the boy's biological mother in a legal contest over who deserves to keep him. The comical judge calls on an ancient tradition – the chalk circle – to resolve the dispute. Full Story...