Encore Performance of ‘a Lesson from Aloes’ Presented at Colorado State to Celebrate Opening of International Poster Exhibition

To help commemorate the 13th Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition beginning Sept. 12 at Colorado State University, the school’s Department of Music, Theatre and Dance, in conjunction with Bas Bleu Theatre Company, will present a special encore performance of "A Lesson from Aloes" by celebrated South African playwright Athol Fugard.

The play, which won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play and sold out to northern Colorado audiences at Bas Bleu in the spring, addresses issues related to apartheid through a compelling portrait of three people torn apart amid the atrocities of a police state. Laura Jones, director of Colorado State’s theatre program, is restaging the production in Johnson Hall on the Colorado State campus. The play features encore performances by Wendy Ishii, Tom Sutherland and Earlie Thomas.

The production will take place at 8 p.m. on Sept. 13 with an audience talk-back immediately following. For ticket information, call (970) 491-5116 or (970) 491-6444.

"We are pleased to have the opportunity to complement the opening of the International Poster Show with ‘A Lesson from Aloes’ because of the uncanny parallels between the current political situation of Chaz Maviyane-Davis, the poster exhibition’s honor laureate, and the production’s character of Steve played by Earlie Thomas," said Jones. "Likewise, Tom Sutherland’s incredible experience as a hostage in Beirut further underscores the thematic content connections as the empathy with his character is derived from Tom’s personal commitment to social justice and his lifelong advocacy of human rights."

In the play, Piet, a white Afrikaner, and his wife Gladys, who represents British imperialism in South Africa, apprehensively prepare a farewell dinner for their "coloured" friend Steve. Steve is a revolutionary about to be sent into exile after spending time in jail. An unknown informer betrayed him to the secret police and the aftermath of his arrest turned Gladys and Piet’s lives upside down. Gladys and Steve wonder if Piet is the traitor, and all three confront their pasts together and their futures apart.

Jones stated that involving theatre in a traditionally visual arts event illustrates the beneficial cooperation among arts entities and organizations that will continue to develop at Colorado State.  

Colorado State’s Department of Music, Theatre and Dance recently merged with the university’s Art Department to form the comprehensive School of Arts.

More than 190 original posters created by some of the world’s most acclaimed artists will be showcased on the Colorado State University campus at the 13th Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition beginning Sept. 12. The six-week long exhibition, the only international poster presentation organized in the United States, features works by over 100 graphic artists from 35 countries. The posters feature international perspectives on contemporary political, social and cultural issues. The exhibition is free and open to the public. For more information, call (970) 491-7634 or visit the Web at www.colostate.edu/Depts/Art/poster.

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