Table Read – The Dramatic Circle by Adrienne Kennedy, Directed by Pope.L

For this closed-door workshop-style table read, Pope.L directs seven actors in an experimental rendition of “The Dramatic Circle” by the renowned black playwright Adrienne Kennedy.

Kennedy’s one-act play is a mix of genres: It’s a love story, a thriller, an episodic novel, a mystery play about two African-American women set in London, 1961, but it feels like the 19th century. “The Dramatic Circle” follows Alice and Suzanne Alexander who become caught up in a web of intrigue involving Frantz Fanon, Dracula, Napoleon, and a Dr. Freud-like figure.

This reading, staged inside of the Ren’s current exhibition, was commissioned at the invitation of Bruce Hainley and Shahryar Nashat, who selected this play.