The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey continues its 2013 “Lend Us Your Ears” play reading series with the American premiere of Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov’s only full-length theatrical work, “The Tragedy of Mister Morn.” at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30 at the Shakespeare Theatre’s Main Stage, the F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, and 36 Madison Ave. in Madison.
Never published during Nabokov’s lifetime, “The Tragedy of Mister Morn” was translated into English by Anastasia Tolstoy, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Leo Tolstoy, and British scholar Thomas Karshan.
The Shakespeare Theatre’s reading, featuring a cast of company members and guest artists, marks the very first time the recently translated play will be seen or heard in the United States.
The evening will also include a post-play talk-back session with the director, cast, and audience. For tickets or more information, call the box office at 973-408-5600 or visit www.ShakespeareNJ.org.
“The Tragedy of Mister Morn.” stands as one of Nabokov’s earliest literary endeavors. Written while the young Nabokov lived in Berlin as a refugee from the Russian Revolution, “The Tragedy of Mister Morn” is a “whimsical, largely allegorical tragicomedy” about a disguised king whose unorthodox love affair sparks revolution, according to the New Republic. Translator Thomas Karshan wrote in his introduction that Nabokov “would never again write … so directly about the moment of revolution itself, or so probingly about ideology, as he did in ‘Morn.’”
The tale’s epic “swerving turns of phrase and ringing contrasts” reveal a “tragedy that owes a debt to Shakespeare.”
The New York Times praised “The Tragedy of Mister Morn” as a “road map to what this dazzling sorcerer of words would later create.” “Such tales within tales, celebrating art and artifice and the imagination, would become a centerpiece of Nabokov’s mature work,” including the notorious, yet poignant, classic novel “Lolita.”
Tickets for the reading of “The Tragedy of Mister Morn.” are $15 for adults; student tickets are $10 each. For tickets, call the box office at 973-408-5600, visit www.ShakespeareNJ.org oremailboxoffice@shakespearenj.org.
The F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre is barrier free with access into the Theatre via a ramp and elevator access to all floors. Wheelchair seating and transfer seating is available. Braille and large print programs are available. Infrared listening devices are available free of charge. Some performances are audio described. Contact the theater for more information.
For more information, or to purchase tickets, call 973-408-5600 or visit www.ShakespeareNJ.org.