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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

NO MAN’S LAND Takes the Stage at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey

For the first time in 15 years, a work by Nobel Prize winner Harold Pinter will be presented on The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s Main Stage. Beginning on August 11 and continuing through August 29, Pinter’s 1975 modern classic No Man’s Land, directed by artistic director Bonnie J. Monte, will run at the F. M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre. No Man’s Land contains adult language and is not recommended for children.

Full price single tickets for No Man’s Land are now on sale and range in price from $31 to $54, depending on performance day and time.  For tickets or more information, call the box office at 973.408.5600 or visit http://www.shakespearenj.org/. 4-play and 3-play choose-your-own discount ticket packages are now on sale. The discount ticket packages feature up to 40% percent savings off the cost of regular tickets, the best seats to all Main Stage productions; free, easy and unlimited ticket exchanges should schedules change; discounts on additional tickets; and the convenience of having tickets in hand and dates scheduled in advance. Choose-your-own 4-play and 3-Play ticket packages start at $80.

Considered one of the most influential British playwrights in modern times, Harold Pinter was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005. In awarding the prize, the Academy referred to the playwright, screenwriter, actor and director as “a modern classic.” Some of his best-known plays include The Caretaker, The Homecoming and Betrayal. His screenplay adaptations include The French Lieutenant’s Woman, Sleuth and many of his plays. Pinter died in 2008.

This disturbing and controversial piece offers up Pinter’s biting wit and brilliant use of language. Upon its opening in 1975, the Arts Guardian of London called No Man’s Land  “a masterly summation of all the themes that have long obsessed Pinter…a living theatrical experience full of rich comedy in which one speech constantly undercuts another.”

Preview performances for No Man’s Land are Wednesday, August 11, at 7:30 PM; Thursday and Friday, August 12 and 13, at 8:00 PM and Saturday, August 14, at 2 PM. Preview performances offer opportunities for reduced-priced tickets while enjoying the excitement of the very first performances in front of an audience. As always, the first Preview performance is Pay What You Can night. Visit The Shakespeare Theatre Box Office between noon and curtain on August 11 and purchase a ticket for what you are able to pay for that evening’s 7:30 PM preview performance (regularly $31 to $34, offer subject to availability).

For each production, The Shakespeare Theatre presents the popular education program Know the Show. From 7:00 to 7:30 PM, artists from The Shakespeare Theatre will present a pre-performance talk that provides background information and an insider’s perspective on the production. Know the Show will be held on August 19 at 7:00 PM. General admission is $5 for the general public, $4 for ticket package holders. Tickets to that evening’s 8:00 PM performance may be purchased separately for $43 balcony seating or $47 for orchestra seating.

The Saturday, August 28, 2 PM performance will be audio described for those who are blind or have visual impairments. Audio description enables patrons with visual impairments to hear, through an FM transmitter, a live description of the action on the stage. A pre-performance sensory seminar allows patrons to feel props, costumes and set pieces to further enhance their live theatrical experience. The service is offered free of charge. Tickets for the Saturday 2 PM performance are $43 and $47.