Douglas College is taking a walk back 2,000 years for its new fall production.
Tales from Ovid is onstage Nov. 2 through 9 at Douglas College’s New Westminster campus.
The production is a retelling of the Roman poet’s stories by English poet Ted Hughes, adapted for the stage by Tim Supple and Simon Reade. Students will perform nine stories: Tiresias, Echo and Narcissus, Semele, Bacchus and Pentheus, Arachne, Myrrha, Midas, Salmacis and Hermaphroditus, and Phaethon.
In Tiresias, the blind oracle is punished by the goddess Juno and turned into a woman for seven years, resulting in a unique character who stands between man and woman, human and gold, present and future, the seen and unseen. Echo and Narcissus and Salmacis and Hermaphroditus take unrequited love and obsession to the extreme. Semele and Bacchus and Pentheus are both lessons in trust and faithfulness. Arachne and Phaethon warn of the dangers of pride, while Midas warns against greed and Myrrha against lust.
“They’re magical stories that we have told and retold for thousands of years, so audience members will find many of the plots and lessons familiar,” said director Kathleen Duborg in a press release.
She noted that the stories are ones of transformation – both literal, such as humans turning into animals, and figurative, such as in one passion becoming another. Many tackle complex emotional landscapes and difficult topics that require a certain amount of empathy and open-mindedness to understand, Duborg said.
“The actors are encouraged to strengthen their empathetic gaze and more confidently assert their voice as storytellers and people,” she said. “Being able to speak directly to an audience in such an engaging way – it’s an important acting skill that forces them to be really mindful and present.”
Duborg said Tales from Ovid promises a unique experience for theatregoers.
“We have created a very intimate set-up between actors and audience, one that forces the audience to pay attention and absorb the stories. At the same time, the dramatic shifts of the actors from first person, to third person, to choral narrator – and the beauty of the language – will draw viewers in.”
The cast includes students Hailey Connor, Aidan Currie, Roisin D’Mello, Khyla Granstrom, Jaime Kerr, Aysia Ledoux, Ally Ray, Juan Somma and Douglas alum Dayna Hoffman.
The production is presented by the department of theatre, along with the department of stagecraft and event technology.
Tales from Ovid is onstage at the Studio Theatre at the New West campus, 700 Royal Ave. Tickets are $20 general admission, and $10 for students, seniors and Talkback Tuesdays. For tickets and show times, see talesfromovid.bpt.me.
