Typewriter Dreams: Three Centuries of One Act Plays

The New York premiere of Oscar Wilde’s A Florentine Tragedy is presented by the Xoregos Performing Company as part of Typewriter Dreams: Three Centuries of One Act Plays. Shela Xoregos directs.

Written in 1893, A Florentine Tragedy was given two performances at literary clubs in London in 1905 and 1906. Last year, it was presented by Two Rivers Theatre in New Jersey. No other performances of the work in America or elsewhere have been discovered. It is the last of his published plays never seen in New York. The play is in Wilde anthologies and is written elegantly, using classical language and cadence. It is set in 16 Century Florence. Stylistically, it is unlike any other play Wilde wrote and has a pungent twist at the close. In this New York premiere, a prologue, written by English poet, dramatist and art critic Thomas Sturge Moore in 1906 will be used.

The other half of the evening consists of three premieres: the comedic mime-play How the Cookie Crumbles, by Adé Adémola, whose work Oluronbi was recently presented by Africa Arts Theatre at the Raw Space; Robert E. DiNardo’s shocking Protected, written for this program and Grace Cavalieri’s Jennie & the Jujuman, which is based on two real 19th Century people who knew each other, one white, one black, living in Georgia. The program also includes Dave deChristopher’s unusual Moon Vault, a fantasy/comedy set in a fertility clinic. Each play has secrets and twists, whether comedic or dramatic.

There is an additional performance Sunday, June 20 at 7:30 PM

Appropriate for audiences over 12.