October 30, 2008

Scenes From an Execution. Download image.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UAB Theatre presents "Scenes From an Execution," written by Howard Barker, at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14-15 and Nov. 19-22 and 2 p.m. Nov. 23, in the Alys Stephens Center's Odess Theatre, 1200 10th Ave. S. Directed by Karla Koskinen. This play contains mature content and language and partial nudity. Tickets are $12; $6 for UAB and BACHE students; $10 for UAB employees/senior citizens. Call 205-975-2787. Visit UAB Theatre online at http://theatre.hum.uab.edu/.

"Scenes From an Execution" is a contemporary parable on the power of artistic creation. Late 16th-century painter Galactia is commissioned by the Doge to do a mural commemorating the naval victory at Lepanto. She shocks the government by presenting war in all its horror, cruelty and suffering. Despite orders, she chooses imprisonment over changing the mural. In the play, Galactia exclaims, "Artists have no power and great imagination. The state has no imagination and great power." This struggle between artistic and personal freedom and the demands of governing a modern state is at the center of this provocative play, said Koskinen.

"Many of the themes that Barker touches on could have been drawn from our own current political debate. As the admiral of the navy tells Galactia, she is 'afraid to be sucked down into the well of a different truth.' Truth is defined by an individual's perspective and attempting to find simple answers to complex issues always leads to simplification," Koskinen said. The cast is Lindsay Allen of Tuscaloosa; Brenton Bellomy of Scottsboro; Timothy Craig of Birmingham; Chuckie Fuoco of Homewood; Noah Holcomb of Corner; Hannah Hughes of Vestavia; Benoít Johnson of Huntsville; Daniel Martin of Trinity; Donald Martin of Montgomery; Will Rainer of Enterprise; Emilie Soffe of Enterprise; Jessica Walston of Hoover; and Brittney Williams of Pratt City.