Gentlemen Volunteers is Pig Iron’s signature work. Gentlemen Volunteers is an emotionally-charged event, producing what the London Guardian describes as, “the all-consuming sense of being drunk with love on a cliff-edge.” Set during the War to End all Wars, Gentlemen Volunteers tells the story of two young and eager Yale graduates, Vincent and Rich, who, rejecting the neutrality of the United States, throw their support to France. A la Ernest Hemingway, Vincent and Rich dash to the Western Front to drive ambulances as wide-eyed Ivy-league boys, ready for war. Amidst the emblazoned battlefields, they also encounter love with a pair of European nurses, Mary and Franciose. The consequences of battle yield high casualties— in war, and love.
Pig Iron’s awarding-winning play is performed without the trappings of theatre that usually include props, precisely-focused stage lights, and canned sound. Gentlemen Volunteers relies on the actors’ bodies, voices, sound from unexpected sources, and live clarinet and accordion music to tell this harrowing tale. This WWI story is told in promenade— the audience follows the action around the space. In order to maintain the integrity of this striking element of the show, Perishable will transform the theatre by removing all of its risers and fixed seats, replacing them with wooden benches that can be easily moved to support the story as it unfolds. Audience members can choose to stand, or sit, adding a sense of urgency and immediacy to the theatrical experience.
Gentelmen Volunteers has been performed to sold-out houses at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1999 and 2000, and has had successful tours to theatres and festivals in Poland, Germany, Romania, Italy and Ireland, and in their hometown of Philadelphia, Gentlemen Volunteers is a beautiful, well-tuned, and deeply invested work that should not be missed!
Gentlemen Volunteers is performed by Pig Iron Company Artistic Directors Quinn Bauriedel, Dito Van Reigersberg and company members Emmanuelle Delpech-Ramey and Cassandra Friend. Company member James Suggs composed the original music. Written by Suli Holum designed by Trey Lyford, directed by Artistic Director, Dan Rothenberg. For more information about Pig Iron Theatre Company, visit their website at: www.pigiron.org
Gentlemen Volunteers
Written by Suli Holum designed by Trey Lyford, directed by Artistic Director, Dan Rothenberg. Performed by Pig Iron Company Artistic Directors Quinn Bauriedel, Dito Van Reigersberg and company members Emmanuelle Delpech-Ramey and Cassandra Friend. Company member James Suggs composed the original music.
Gentlemen Volunteers
Text by Suli Holum,
Directed by Dan Rothenberg
March 22 - March 26, 2005
5 Performances Only!
Tuesday, Wednesday + Thursday at 7pm
Friday + Saturday at 8pm
Tickets:
$20 General
$15 student/senior
For Tickets, please visit
www.arttixri.com
or call
401-621-6123
Group Rates Available
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