EXIT THE KING
WRITTEN BY Eugène Ionesco
DIRECTED BY Jordan Friend
January 15-22, 2016
ABOUT
“I’ll die, yes, I’ll die all right. In forty, fifty, three hundred years. Or even later. When I want to, when I’ve got time, when I make up my mind.”-King Berenger I
King Berenger is going to die. The planets are colliding, his kingdom is quite literally ripping apart at the seams, and everyone in the court has either ditched or died, save for one hapless guard and one tragically overworked maid. The doctor has concluded that all of these signs point to only one conclusion: the ailing 400 year-old monarch clearly has only two hours left on earth, and his passing must take place exactly at the end of the play. His young, beautiful wife is an emotional wreck. His older, disillusioned wife just wants to get it all over with. There is only one problem: the king will have none of this “dying” business. As the clock ticks, Berenger manically attempts to dodge the fate that awaits him, as his wives war with each other over how best to let him pass. Ionesco’s masterful tragicomedy is the pinnacle of absurdism: touching, hilarious and surreal in equal measure.
PRESS
"Exit the King is an intimate theatergoer’s performance paradise. You can touch the actors, feel their dying breath, and get knocked in the knees when they fall. If that’s not enough reason to check it out, then see them for the pure audacity of it: young theatre artists plus a rarely done great play equals a theatre group with a future."
-Robert Michael Oliver, DC Metro Theatre Arts
SHOW INFORMATION
Run Time: 100 minutes, with no intermission
The Classroom at Woolly Mammoth – 641 D Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004
MEDIA
listen along to our playlist inspired by the play!
READ THE PROGRAM
If the prospect of a royal leader grappling with his demise sounds like a downer of a premise, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the downright zany humor – veering into the slapstick realm – that pervades the production. Macabre the subject may be, this is a capital “C” comedy that offers plenty of big laughs along with its unsettling reminders.
-Daron Christopher, DC Theatre Scene
CREATIVE
CAST
Ahmad Kamal
KING BERENGER I
Morgan Sendek
JULIETTE
Kate Owens
QUEEN MARGUERITE
Nick Byron
DOCTOR
Caroline McQuaig
QUEEN MARIE
Curt Gavin
GUARD
CREW
Jordan Friend
DIRECTOR
Maya Barkey
STAGE MANAGER
Susannah Clark
DRAMATURG
Charles Patrick Derrickson
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Paul Alan Hogan
COSTUME/MAKE UP DESIGN
Aria Nawab, Anne Donnelly, Jordan Friend
SCENIC DESIGN
GALLERY
