Death and Devil is a one act written by one of the forerunners of German Expressionist theatre. In its time the play and the playwright were both banned from various countries for illicit content, offending the establishment and overall bad taste. Always dealing with and fascinated by the seedy underworld, Wedekind unleashes a tale hammering the middle class (in accord with the baby boomers of today) in their shunning of pursuing sensual pleasure through immoral and unethical avenues. Still as relevant today as it was in 1905, this play is a scathing review of what 90% of the population holds dear and considers infallible.
Theatre Encounter’s inaugural production, Theatricide was a performer-generated piece, which stemmed from the authors’ in-depth research into theatre history, the role it has played and the present outcome of what post-modernism is actually attaining. A symbolically deep story of a woman’s realization that everything she is striving to attain and has lived through artistically has already been done before.
Presented September 25-29, 2007 at the Motel Theatre (Calgary AB)
by Frank Wedekind, and, the Baader Meinhof Collective
Directed by Michael Fenton
Starring: Ben Charland, Elan Pratt, Elaine Weryshko, Pat Quinn, Jessica Robertshaw, Mike Rogers, Tawny Lehan; and
Marcy Lannan, Michael Fenton, and Mike Unrau.