LAURA HARRINGTON
N (BONAPARTE)
PILGRIM THEATRE 2005
1815. Napoleon’s final exile on the island of St. Helena. Torn between power and its loss, history and memory, haunted by the ghosts of Joan of Arc and Josephine, and plagued by an omnipresent chorus of sardonic rats, Napoleon is the pivot point for a vividly theatrical and darkly comic meditation on the nature and perils of power and the quest for immortality.
“This Napoleon really is dynamite!”
“Tantalizingly provocative.”
“Incisive and moving.”
“The haunted spirit of this troubled legend comes alive.”
“You become rapt in their rapture.”
“Harrington’s witty dialogue favorably calls to mind Tom Stoppard’s Travesties.”
“This Napoleon really is dynamite.” —Boston’s Weekly Dig
“There’s a thin line between the illusion of power and having actual domination over the physical. Pilgrim Theatre’s N (Bonaparte) walks that line with comic grace and lyrical agility. Moreover, N is written with lyrical persuasion and spoken by actors who possess their characters so fully that you become rapt in their rapture.” —The Boston Phoenix
“Tantalizingly provocative, Harrington’s thoughtful speculation about the former emperor’s imprisonment at the South Atlantic Island west of Africa proves alternately touching, incisive and moving. Thanks to the vibrant staging of the Pilgrim Theatre, the haunted spirit of this troubled legend comes alive at the BCA Plaza Theatre. As Joan of Arc challenges Napoleon as representative of the heart and soul of France, Harrington’s witty dialogue favorably calls to mind the speculative encounters of Tom Stoppard’s Travesties.” —South End News
“Ms. Harrington (writes) bravura mono- and dialogues, some of them brilliant.”—Theatre Mirror
“High commendation also for the fine, simple, yet highly atmospheric tent-like setting designed by Susan Zeeman Rogers, Joshua Randall’s dramatically effective lighting, and Kim Mancuso’s strong direction. Brimming from start to finish with Playwright Harrington’s compelling dialogue which keeps us focused on Napoleon’s always cogent and provocative notions about the nature and limits of power. His manifest ethos is summed up by a quotation by Chateaubriand, listed at the outset of the play’s printed program notes: “Alive he failed to gain the world. Dead, he owns it.” —Norm Gross, pmpnetwork.com
“Although steeped in history, N (Bonaparte) is as relevant as the front page.” —Ko Festival of Performance Theatre Journal
PRODUCTIONS
Pilgrim Theatre Research and Performance Collaborative, Kim Mancuso and Kermit Dunkelberg, artistic directors, Boston Center for the Arts, 2005
KO Festival, Amherst, MA, Sabrina Hamilton, artistic director, 2005
Director: Kim Mancuso
Scenic and Object Design: Susan Zeeman Rogers
Costume Design: Kimi Maeda
Lighting Design: Joshua Randall
Sound Design: Michael McLaughlin and Katie Down
Assistant to the Director: Sophie Cable
Stage Manager: Tess Diduch
Dr Barry O’Meara: Christopher Crowley
Napoleon Bonaparte: Kermit Dunkelberg
Josephine: Belle Linda Halpern
Sir Hudson Lowe: Michael Harrington
Count Montholon: Dev Luthra
Joan of Arc: Jenn Pina
Rat/ Comtesse Albine de Montholon: Allison Linker
Rat/ Bloody Soldier, etc: Ben Lu
Rat/ Bloody Soldier, etc: Adam Miller
Simon: Zoe Mancuso Dunkelberg
WORKSHOPS
Portland Stage Company’s Little Festival of the Unexpected, 2002
New Voices Series, Geva Theatre, 2003
Virtual Theatre Project, 2004
AWARDS
Virtual Theatre Project New Play Award
Cited by Theatre Mirror for Best of Boston 2005
N Bonaparte is available in Theatre Forum, International Theatre Journal, Number 30, Winter/ Spring 2007.
“Pilgrim Theatre Research and Performance Collaborative, Laura Harrington, and N (Bonaparte),” an article by Kermit Dunkelberg.
• The Pilgrim Theatre production of N Bonaparte subsequently toured to the KO Festival in Amherst MA, Sabrina Hamilton, artistic director.
• The artists of Pilgrim Theatre did a series of workshops in 2004/2005 at MIT, Harvard, and Boston Center for the Arts.