BA (Hons) Acting and BA (Hons) Actor Musicianship present WELCOME TO THEBES A play by Moira Buffini

London College of Music

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17 – 20 June 2021 London College of Music Director’s Note Cast and Characters

After ten years of brutal civil war, When Sophocles was writing in Athens Cast Character Eurydice and her government are in the fifth century BCE, Thebes was an preparing to lead Thebes into its enemy territory. Although almost on its Lorraine Adeyefa Eurydice (Cast 1) / Helia (Cast 2) new life as a democracy. Holding the doorstep – just one day’s trek across a Christian Bludell Xenophanes (Cast 1) / Prince Tydeus (Cast 2) new-found peace by their fingertips, mountain – it was mythic and distant. A Theodoros Charalambous Tiresias they face danger on all sides. At home, point of departure in our process was to war lords seeking to profit from chaos consider the people stranded in refugee Rose De Vera Pargeia stir up rebellion, while outside their camps in Greece today: to ask who Jenna Dyckhoff Megaera / Eunomia gates, neighbouring Sparta is looking they are, where they have come from to extend its empire. Their only hope and what is our responsibility to them. Molly Evans is to secure the help of democratic Forced out, homes destroyed, they have Sophia Ford Aglaea superpower Athens. risked their lives to flee circumstances we can barely imagine, in order simply Tiana Mai Jackson Euphrosyne and Harmonia Moira Buffini relocates Oedpius’ cursed to live. During the pandemic, the Kofi Jordan Prince Tydeus (Cast 1) / Xenophanes (Cast 2) family to the twenty-first century in situation of these already vulnerable a radical reimagining of Sophocles’ people continues to worsen. Joseph Kenway Junior Lieutenant Scud Theban plays, whose tragic scale feels Alex Lafferty Polykleitos and Enyalius alarmingly at home here. Resonating Choose Love is a not-for-profit which with the violence and suffering of recent works with people fleeing war, Elisabeth Lancaster Talthybia and ongoing conflicts – from Liberia persecution and climate change Luca Lavagetto and Plautus (Cast 1) / Theseus (Cast 2) and Syria, to Venezuela and Myanmar – through partner organisations around David Logar Sergeant Miletus Buffini channels the imaginative scope the world. of our ancient stories to ask us how we Raheim Menzies Theseus (Cast 1) / Polynices and Plautus (Cast 2) want to live today. @chooselove Giovanni Palazzolo Phaeax www.choose.love Must the people of a state impoverished Gemma Pearce Helia (Cast 1) / Eurydice (Cast 2) and maimed by war simply accept Rhia Quinn James that to suffer is their fate? What is our responsibility as richer, more stable Nusra Rozely Thalia nations towards them? Thomas West Haemon Cast

Lorraine Adeyefa Christian Bludell Theodoros Charalambous Rose De Vera Jenna Dykchoff Molly Evans Sophia Ford

Tiana Mai Jackson Kofi Jordan Joseph Kenway Alexander Lafferty Elisabeth Lancaster Luca Lavagetto David Logar

Raheim Menzies Giovanni Palazzolo Gemma Pearce Rhia Quinn James Nusra Rozely Thomas West Production and Creative Team Director Jon Pashley Composer and Musical Director Thomas West Movement Director Kane Husbands Assistant Movement Director Tamara Hayes-Elliot Voice Coach Nick Trumble Assistant Voice Coaches Adam Charles and Samara Neely-Cohen Sound Design Gavin Fernandes Light Design Marcin Miloszewski Set Design Rob Miles Costume Design Suzanne Bell Stage Manager Esme Knight Theatre Technical Manager Paul Comerford

Musicians Cajon, Trumpet, French Horn Thomas West Violin, Flute, Piccolo Jenna Dyckhoff Piano, Tank Drum David Logar

uwl.ac.uk/LCM

This amateur production of “Welcome to Thebes” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd. www.concordtheatricals.co.uk