Live theatre will probably not happen for a while but the company are at work and we would like to share with you our new series, the PLAYS TO LISTEN TO.
We will bring to the chosen plays our customary detailed attention to text and Scena Mundi members will work on the performances with the dedication and talent they've always shown in their stage work.
The plays will be broadcast live in the evening and you will be able to register from our website or our newsletter if you are a subscriber. The readings are free and followed by Q&A sessions with the actors and director.
In order to recreate the conditions of performance as closely as possible, we will "open the doors" of our virtual auditorium at 7:15 pm to give you time to get a drink and read the programme notes. The play will start shortly afterwards.
After the play, we will hold a Q&A session with the actors and would love you to stay and participate - an occasion to ask us whatever you like!
If you cannot join us live, the performance will be available on replay on this site shortly after the performance.
The PLAYS TO LISTEN TO are free but we give you an opportunity to support our work through a donation of your choice by clicking on the button below.
Whatever the amount we receive, it will be shared between the company members.
Three Men in a Boat by One Man in a Boater, after Jerome K. Jerome
2 July 2020, 7.30pm
That's My Cue Productions, associated with Scena Mundi Theatre present Three Men in a Boat (By One Man in a Boater), the hilarious new adaptation of Jerome K Jerome's comic masterpiece: Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog).
Jerome (Martin Prest) recounts the story of an unforgettable boating trip up the Thames in 1889. Travelling with his two friends George and Harris and his faithful dog Montmorency, they learn of the troubles of camping, the hazards of punts, the difficulty of mazes and, of course, the importance of tin openers.
Scena Mundi are delighted to include this humorous, eventful tale in their Plays to Listen To Series. Perfect for the summer, it was entirely adapted by Scena Mundi associate artist Martin Prest, who brings this perfect slice of English hilarity to the stage, in their third, full length.
The performance will start at 7.30pm and will be followed by a chat with the actor, Martin Prest.
To register, please click here.
We look forward to seeing you on the 2nd of July.
PLAYS ON REPLAY
Ben Jonson’s Volpone, or the Fox
“Good morning to the day; and next my gold.”
Volpone (the Fox), a rich Venetian, and his servant Mosca (the Fly) pretend that Volpone is dying to encourage greedy fortune hunters to vie for his favour in hopes of being named his heir. These birds of prey, Voltore (the Vulture), Corbaccio (the Raven) and Corvino (the Crow), oblivious to their own foibles, duly visit Volpone with rich presents while eagerly hoping for news of his death, offering Volpone and Mosca much cause for laughter.
Inspired by Roman satire and the tradition of fables in which human follies are portrayed through animal characters, Ben Jonson’s exuberant satire of human greed is a feast of language and a triumphant ode to the art of acting and the misguided lure of riches. Will your sympathies lie with the deceiver – or will they lie with the parasite? Watch treachery rewarded, before poetic justice engulfs both knaves and dupes.
To join us, please register HERE.
The performance will start at 7.00 pm. We will send you a programme ahead of the performance. After the play, you will be invited to a Q&A session. If you have questions to ask us, the cast and director will be available and delighted to chat with you. You can also email us in advance with your queries.
We look forward to seeing you on the 14th of June.
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CAST: Graham Pountney (Volpone) - Pip Brignall (Mosca) - Rupert Bates (Voltore) - Clare Brice (Lady Politic Would Be) - Anna Buckland (Avocatore) - Jack Christie (Sir Politic Would Be) - Isaac Deayton (Bonario) - David J. Keogh (Sir Peregrine) - Faye Maughan (Celia) - Martin Prest (Corvino) - Fraser Wilson (Corbaccio)
Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus
“Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it.”
Renaissance man and scholar John Faustus, impatient of traditional knowledge and willing to know the secrets of the universe, turns his attention to the occult arts. Why would he fear the devil, he who thinks hell is a fable? When Mephistopheles answers his conjuring, an infernal journey begins.
Part morality play and part modern tragedy, Doctor Faustus is among the best known Elizabethan plays. Faustus, one of the first modern tragic heroes, chooses to sell his soul to the devil. Hubristic and motivated by a longing for knowledge and power, his signing of the pact of blood is a freedom-affirming gesture .To hell with the consequences - literally...
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Jack Christie: Doctor Faustus - Clare Brice: Mephistopheles
Rupert Bates: Old Man/Friar/Scholar/Knight
Will Bridges: Wagner/Chorus
Isaac Deayton: Cornelius/Ralph/Scholar/Wrath/Lechery
James Keningale: Robin/Horse Courser/Pride/Duke of Vanholt
David J. Keogh: Valdes/Friar/Gluttony/Emperor/Cardinal of Lorrain
Faye Maughan: Duchess of Vanholt/Covetousness/Envy
Martin Prest: Lucifer/Scholar/Vintner
Soundscape by Will Bridges
Tracks: “The End” and “The Meeting” from the Album [deƟ] by Jean-Phy
Sophocles’ Antigone
Who on earth,
alive in the midst of so much grief as I, could fail to find his death a rich reward?”
SOPHOCLES’ ANTIGONE, in a translation by Robert Fagles
Ancient Thebes, the old city of Cadmus, is the theatre on which is played the downfall of the house of Laius.
Antigone, the ill-fated daughter of Oedipus, decides to bury the body of her brother Polynices, left to rot outside the city walls upon the order of Creon, her uncle, now King of Thebes.
This gesture, which she sees as her duty, the reverence owed to the dead and the gods, is in the eyes of Creon and the old citizens of Thebes an act of irreverence, a challenge to power and authority.
Sophocles’ text, superbly translated by Robert Fagles, brims with passion, grief and emotion 2500 years after its composition.
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Anna Buckland: Antigone - Faye Maughan: Ismene - Rupert Bates: Creon
Martin Prest: Chorus Leader - David Keogh: Chorus
Will Bridges: Tiresias/Sentry - Isaac Deayton: Haemon/Messenger
Cecilia Dorland: Eurydice
Directed by Cecilia Dorland
Music & Sound Technology: Will Bridges & David Keogh
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