Join us for a free reading of Sejanus.
Sejanus, commander of Rome’s Praetorian Guard, is the favorite of Emperor
Tiberius. But when Tiberius deputizes Sejanus ruler in his stead, the military
man’s vaulting ambition reaches higher still. This daring political drama paints
a picture of Rome – and Jacobean London – as a world of conspiracy, censorship
and equivocal surface realities.
Sejanus is Ben Jonson’s most controversial play, and one of his greatest,
written at the pinnacle of his career. After being performed at King James’
court in 1603, censors banned the play until Jonson rewrote and published it
in 1605, the same year as the Gunpowder Plot. Jonson was unusually close to
the King, and many scholars believe Sejanus was intended as a letter
of political conscience to his ruler. The play has had only a handful of stagings
in the last 400 years; and intriguingly, the 1603 production featured a certain
little known actor – William Shakespeare.
Sejanus
By Ben Jonson
Directed by Alan Paul
Monday, February 27, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.
The Lansburgh Theatre
450 7th Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
Seats are limited. Reserve your free tickets now or call 202.547.1122, option 4.
Works for the ReDiscovery Series are chosen by Artistic Director Michael Kahn
and presented under the direction of the Company's artistic staff. Guest artists
join members of the Washington theatrical community to investigate these great
but lesser-known plays of world literature at the Lansburgh on several Mondays
throughout the year. Guest scholars, translators and adaptors involved with
the evening's reading also frequently participate in rehearsal, performance
and post-performance discussions.
Learn more about the ReDiscovery Series
