North Carolina Stage Company confronts the intersection of science and ethics in Caryl Churchill’s shocking new play A Number. The production runs April 15 – May 3 at NC Stage’s venue in the heart of downtown Asheville. Ron Bashford directs Graham Smith and Charlie Flynn-McIver in A Number. The theatre is also experimenting with new hours for this production, keeping its lobby and bar open after the play, so that patrons can discuss it over a glass of wine or a beer.
“Your parents always told you that you were unique. What if they lied?” In A Number, a lonely father is confronted by his grown sons with the improbable truth of their origin. Caryl Churchill’s tense play is only nominally about the ethical issues of cloning. More importantly, she uses this issue on the cutting edge of science to explore the nature of family and our understanding of our own humanity.
The Evening Standard wrote of the original production: “A Number by Caryl Churchill is the first true play of the 21st century. It’s an hour-long experiment in prediction, a meditation upon identity, a sort of nightmare imagining of what the magic of science, in relation to cloning, may one day require of our hearts and minds.”
NC Stage will keep its lobby and concessions stand open after each performance, serving coffee and cookies from Sugar Momma’s bakery, as well as $3 wine and beer. NC Stage has typically had a cast talk-back the first Friday of each production, but for this complex and thought-provoking production, the company decided to host informal post-show conversations in its lobby after all 15 performances.
Graham Smith plays Salter, and Charlie Flynn-McIver plays his sons. Smith is a Charlotte-based actor, whose resume includes 12 years with the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival (most recently as the title role in King Lear) plus 24 seasons with the Charlotte Repertory Theatre. He is a member of the Resident Ensemble of Artists at the world-renowned People’s Light & Theatre. Flynn-McIver is Artistic Director and co-founder of NC Stage, and appeared most recently in the remounting of Stones In His Pockets at the Diana Wortham Theatre.
Director Ron Bashford chose to stage A Number in the round, making NC Stage’s already-intimate venue even more accessible. This is the first time the theatre has staged a play in the round. “The play explores who we are from shifting perspectives,” says Bashford, “I want to make that experience real and immediate for the audience, literally three-dimensional. Also, the play requires especially personal and dynamic acting. Placing the two actors in the center of public view raises the stakes and intensifies their relationship.”
Caryl Churchill is one of Britain’s leading playwrights, best known for her dramas Cloud Nine and Top Girls. Her recent play A Number (2002) has been called “a challenging new form of moral inquiry” by London’s Guardian newspaper. The Sunday Times wrote “…the questions this brilliant, harrowing play asks are almost unanswerable, which is why they must be asked.”
Patrons who plan ahead can see A Number for as little as $6. Wednesday April 15th is “Pay-What-You-Can Night”. On this night only patrons choose whatever price they can afford for a theatre ticket, with a minimum of $6 (cash only, exact change only). Patrons are strongly encouraged to call ahead for reservations, or they risk not getting a seat.
North Carolina Stage Company is Asheville’s professional theatre, named WNC’s Best Local Stage Company for three years in a row by readers of the Mountain Xpress.
Tickets and show times: Tickets are $16-$26; ticket price varies by date. Call (828) 239-0263 or visit www.ncstage.org for tickets. A Number runs April 15 – May 3, 2009. Wednesdays – Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2:00pm. Wednesday April 15 is Pay-What-You-Can Night ($6 minimum, cash only, exact change only, reservations highly recommended). Thursday April 16 is Happy-Hour-and-a-Half Thursday, featuring complimentary beer, wine, and appetizers. Sponsored by Colorful Palate Catering.
Location: North Carolina Stage Company performs in a 99-seat theatre in downtown Asheville, entrance is at 15 Stage Lane, off of Walnut St. one block off Haywood Street, next to the Rankin Ave. parking garage.
$5 student rush tickets can be purchased within one hour of each of the three remaining performances, tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30 and Sunday at 2 (subject to availability with student ID).