'A Midsummer Night's Dream' At Wellesley College Sept. 23 - 25

Five professional British actors bring Shakespeare's classic comedy to life at Wellesley College's newly renovated Diana Chapman Walsh Alumnae Hall for three performances only this September.

Weaving three stories of love, magic and perception in a moonlit forest on a midsummer night, the Actors From the London Stage (AFTLS) presents William Shakespeare's fantastical play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 23, 24 and 25, at 7 pm. Performances are free and open to the public.

Actors Nicola Alexis, Devon Black, Matthew Douglas, Paul O'Mahony and Julian Rivett will each play a number of roles in the performance. With simple and evocative settings, this self-directed ensemble works collaboratively with their audiences to bring Shakespeare's dramatic language beautifully and compellingly alive.

The group will be at Wellesley for a weeklong residency, Sept. 21-25. In addition to performing, they will teach workshops for Wellesley theatre studies and English department students during the week.

Formed 35 years ago, AFTLS is one of the oldest and most respected touring Shakespeare companies in the world. Coming from such prestigious venues as the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, these classically trained actors devote a large part of their time to working with students. Part of their stated mission is to "get students up out of their chairs and act with them to learn how Shakespeare's texts become scripts, words become actions and actions become meaning."
A theatrical tour de force beloved by the Wellesley community, this will be AFTLS's fifth visit to the Wellesley campus. Past productions have included King Lear, The Winter's Tale, Macbeth and Hamlet. When not on tour, the group is based in England.

Free parking is available in the Davis Parking Facility. Directions and a map of Wellesley College are online at www.wellesley.edu/Admin/travel.html. Wheelchair accessible. For disability services contact Jim Wice at 781-283-2434 or jwice@wellesley.edu.

The Wellesley College Department of Theatre Studies, the Department of English, and other departments with the support of the Committee on Lectures and Cultural Events present these free performances. For more information, visitwww.theatre.wellesley.edu,or call 781-283-2000.