American Centaur
When Richard Ordered the Sun to Set / K5
In residence May 9-15 2011
Shakespeare’s kings are, in a word, doozies.
In these two adaptations, American Centaur refracts classical stories through postmodern lenses to better see, to celebrate, and to scorn these troubled and troublesome men.
Drawing influence from sources ancient (poetry, physical theatre, puppetry, dance) and modern (sports movies, 8-bit gaming, installation, pop music) and a wide range of what’s in between, American Centaur presents two wholly new works.
When Richard Ordered the Sun to Set, an adaptation of Richard II, is the bittersweet story of a life in decline and the creeping heartbreak of wasted potential.
K5, based on Henry V, is a raucous exploration of soaring rhetoric, team spirit and down-and-dirty balls-to-the-wallism.
Featuring company members Cory Antiel, Devin Bokaer, Alex Borinsky, Michael Bradley Cohen, Rowan Magee and Justin Perkins, When Richard Ordered the Sun to Set and K5 are presented in repertory.
All shows at IRT
154 Christopher St., #3B (3rd floor)
New York, NY
Friday, May 13
7:00 – Richard
8:30 – K5
10:00 – Richard
Saturday, May 14
7:00 – Richard
8:30 – K5
10:00 – Richard
Sunday, May 15
8:00 – Richard
$5 per show, any two for $7
Purchase tickets
ARTISTS
American Centaur is a theater company with the head of contemporary culture and the body of Shakespeare. Their work is new; they begin with classical texts, primarily Shakespeare, and create vigorous, interesting, wild performance that belongs to this time.
American Centaur is comprised of six men who act, sing, dance, write, play and create. They aim first to tell stories, and to do so in a way that is smart and fun, serious and silly, respectful and irreverent. They are high-tech and low-tech: they use video, recorded music and projections alongside acoustic guitars, puppets, clowning and dance.
Their previous work includes a heavily adapted Merchant of Venice and Lord, What these Weathers Are Cold!, a conflation of two Medieval cycle plays, both presented at Montgomery St. Gardens, a cooperative performance space in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. K5, presented at IRT, premiered at Theaterlab in 2010.