The Masks of Aphra Behn
by A Monkey With Cymbalstheatre, comedy
Aphra Behn – spy, writer and female libertine – a one-woman show.
about the production
It's 1677 and an audience getting ready to watch Aphra Behn's The Rover are in for a surprise. For the show has been cancelled and in its place Aphra herself recounts the extraordinary tale of her time as a spy for King Charles II in the Dutch Wars, and how she became the first professional female writer. Complete with excerpts from Behn's letters, poetry and plays, this vivid and thought-provoking one-woman show brings one of theatre's most brilliant raconteurs back to life. First performed in a month long run at the Women and War Festival 2016
about the artist
See the Video below using this Vimeo password: ClaireAmias A Monkey With Cymbals is a small-scale theatre company started in 2009 by actor / directors Claire Louise Amias and Pradeep Jey. The company has worked on a number of projects, ranging from a one-woman show about the world's first professional female writer to a devised multimedia play about memory and friendship ('Memory of the Other' was granted Arts Council Funding).
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stage dimensions
width: 4 metres
height: 3 metres
depth: 3 metres
We need a board operator and someone to help rig 4 x hooks. Space much have lighting rig. Can be performed in small to medium spaces.
Ages 12+ to 80 years old. For those interested in history, comedy, literature, women in history, female writers, war history, Charles II, theatre history, spying, adventure.
"ingenious … faultless ... thoroughly entertaining... Amias has crafted seamlessly the language of the day with fresh words which still retain the classic feel of the period... Pradeep Jey’s faultless direction always serves the story while the costume by Anna Sorensen Sargent looks splendid... Claire Louise Amias has all the qualities needed to perform a one-woman play. She has a strong, well modulated voice, the ability to switch character in an instant, and a repertoire of assorted voices with which to vary the narrative."
"You'll be hard pressed to find a show quite as original and enjoyable as this one...Amias as Behn is meticulous yet personable... Amias' passion for the projects shines through every detail of the show."
"Through movement, various voices, accents and physical transformations, Amias alternated between the narrator and characters seamlessly. The emotion she portrayed translated as real, current and authentic which she used to immerse the audience into the boisterous existence that was Aphra Behn...The overall production was entertaining, witty, well written and insightful into the life of a woman who at times seems forgotten"
No signed productions at present, but suitable for blind audience members as it is a storytelling based show.
Workshops in Restoration Theatre, Drama and Female Empowerment, and Storytelling. £125 per 1 hour 30 minute workshop. £180 for 2 back to back.
£500 per show. I will organise and pay for flyers and posters to be sent to the theatre.
