theatre KAPOW @The Currier: Reading of ‘The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek’ highlights new exhibit

MANCHESTER, NH – theatre KAPOW continues the ARTiculate Playreading Series in partnership with the Currier Museum of Art on Sunday, April 14 at 2 p.m. The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek by Athol Fugard will be read in relation to the special exhibition Ubuhle Women: Beadwork and the Art of Independence, on view now at the museum.

A touching portrayal of compassion passed down through two generations in a racially-torn continent, Athol Fugard’s latest play centers around aging farm laborer Nukain, who has spent his life transforming the rocks at Revolver Creek into a vibrant garden of painted flowers. Now, the final unpainted rock, as well as his young companion Bokkie, has forced Nukain to confront his legacy as a painter, a person and a black man in 1980s South Africa. When the landowner’s wife arrives with demands about the painting, the profound rifts of a country hurtling toward the end of apartheid are laid bare. The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek observes two differing experiences with racism, in the decades during and following apartheid, while ultimately illuminating the meaning of preserving the history of one’s own past.

theatre KAPOW welcomes two new actors for The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek, Kaedon Gray and Joseph Collymore. This reading is the first time this play has been heard in New Hampshire, and also features Carey Cahoon and is directed by Matt Cahoon. A discussion afterward will be led by Dr. Landis K. Magnuson, Professor of Theater at Saint Anselm College.

Admission to the readings and participation in the discussions is free with museum admission ($15 for adults, $13 for seniors, $10 for students). Passes for reduced admission to the museum may be checked out from more than 90 public libraries across the state. Students, faculty and staff from nine area schools and colleges receive free admission to the museum.

About Athol Fugard

Athol Fugard is an internationally acclaimed South African playwright whose best-known work deals with the political and social upheaval of the apartheid system in South Africa. He was educated at the University of Cape Town. His other plays include: Blood Knot, Hello and Goodbye, People are Living There, Boesman and Lena, Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act, Sizwe Banzi is Dead, The Island, A Lesson From Aloes, “Master Harold”… and the boys, The Road to Mecca, My Children! My Africa!, The Captain’s Tiger, Sorrows and Rejoicings, Exits and Entrances, The Train Driver, The Bird Watchers, and The Blue Iris. In June 2011, he received a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award. Mr. Fugard has received six honorary degrees from esteemed colleges and is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

About theatre KAPOW

theatre KAPOW (www.tkapow.com) develops ensemble productions of great dramatic literature to explore the human experience and inspire and challenge both artist and audience.   tKAPOW places emphasis on the importance of rigorous formal training to develop an ensemble of skilled and dedicated theatre artists.

Now in its 11th season, tKAPOW has established a reputation for presenting important dramatic literature including productions by August Strindberg, Henrik Ibsen, Sam Shepard, David Mamet, Sarah Ruhl, and Tony Kushner. In 2017, tKAPOW won the NH Theatre Award for Best Production of a Play for year’s Exit the King. In 2014 and 2015, tKAPOW won Best Production of a Play for Penelope by Enda Walsh and Time Stands Still by Donald Margulies. tKAPOW also devised and created new works of theatre such as Raining Aluminum and A Story that Cuts Like a Knife.

Visit www.tkapow.com to learn more.