Tales of unstoppable heroes, vengeful gods and beautiful women have passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years.
Theatre Prospero is taking advantage of this natural form of storytelling by debuting The Thousand Faces Festival of Mythic Art running May 18 to 22 in the Alberta Avenue area on 118 Avenue.
“There are so many stories that communicate mythology and we pass it on in our culture that way. It’s so neat,” says Miranda Lucas, public relations co-ordinator for The Thousand Faces Festival of Mythic Art.
As the brainchild of director Mark Henderson, the festival offers eight productions and readings that meld plays, dance, stilt walking, mask and puppetry.
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, opening today, is an epic — the journey of an anti-hero who uses black magic and the supernatural to fulfil his ambition and greed.
Calgary’s Myth of a White Girl, choreographed by Julie Funk and Kathleen Ochoa, is a contemporary dance about the staying power of energy.
Samsaria is Shommee Chakrabartty’s adaptation of Hamlet set in a mythical Eastern kingdom told by the ghost Amrit. Knight of the Fire Beast is a 15-minute stilt-dance take on the myth of the phoenix set to an original score. Like the phoenix that burns and is reborn, this show is performed at sunset.
And a fresh remount of Workshop West’s epic Beowulf combines elements of puppetry, narration and new design elements.
There is also a staged reading of Snout, inspired by the dreams, wolf folklore and variations on the Egyptian myth of Osiris, god of the afterlife, and Isis, mother of life. In a rage of jealousy over Osiris’s place as king, Set, the god of darkness and chaos, kills and dismembers Osiris’s body.
Tickets are $13. Free events are available. Productions are at Alberta Avenue Community Centre, 9210 – 118 Ave. and Avenue Theatre, 9030 – 118 Ave. Call 780-761-2773 or visit www.theatreprospero.ca.
