Axis Theatre Company – creators of the hit The Number 14 – collaborated with the Arts Club Theatre on a new version of the classic tale Don Quixote, coming to Surrey Arts Centre's mainstage Jan. 17-28.
As fans of the earlier show can imagine, masks play an important role in the new production, co-adapted by Colin Heath and lead performer Peter Anderson.
Based on the the two-volume 17th century classic by Miguel de Cervantes – celebrated as not only a high point of the Spanish Golden Age, but also as a cornerstone of modern Western literature – Don Quixote uses masks not only to evoke a multitude of characters, but also explore themes of identity.
"Throwing himself totally into the realm of his imagination, our hero dons the mask of a medieval knight like the ones in his beloved books," Anderson has said.
"But the paradox of masks is that, even as they hide our everyday appearance, they simultaneously reveal a greater truth."
Most of all, the masks – created by Melody Anderson – make possible to recreate with a small troupe the comical and philospohical world of the elderly country gentleman, who has become so obsessed with accounts of knighthood and chivalry that he sets out on his own quest to defend the helpless and destroy the wicked.
David Roberts literary-inspired set takes theatregoers on the journey from Quixote's candlelit study to a field of windmills and the castle of a duke.
Also along for the trip are Michel Perron, as the Don's faithful and naive squire Sancho Panza, plus a company of recognized Vancouver talents including Sasa Brown, Marco Soriano, Raphael Kepinski, Beatrice Zeilinger and Allan Zinyk.
For reservations, and more information on the Surrey run, call 604-501-5566.