|
Murder, mayhem and poetry. Award-winning, visionary playwright Murray Mednick brings his unique sensibility to the hair-raising, sometimes violent, and often hilarious exploits of medieval poet François Villon in a world premiere production directed by the playwright. Employing his signature blend of poetic lyricism and vaudevillian wordplay, Mednick follows the 15th century poet and his gang of bandits, vagabond priests and swordsmen-courtiers through the treacherous forests of medieval France.
“Villon was a tremendous contradiction,” says Mednick, who is careful to note that his play is an homage and a theater riff rather than a straight biography. “He was plucked out of ...Read More
Murder, mayhem and poetry. Award-winning, visionary playwright Murray Mednick brings his unique sensibility to the hair-raising, sometimes violent, and often hilarious exploits of medieval poet François Villon in a world premiere production directed by the playwright. Employing his signature blend of poetic lyricism and vaudevillian wordplay, Mednick follows the 15th century poet and his gang of bandits, vagabond priests and swordsmen-courtiers through the treacherous forests of medieval France.
“Villon was a tremendous contradiction,” says Mednick, who is careful to note that his play is an homage and a theater riff rather than a straight biography. “He was plucked out of the gutter and educated in the Church and at the University of Paris, only to become a bandit and a murderer. He was a Catholic scholar who could write great religious poetry alongside the bawdiest of ballads. He was pardoned by the King because his poetry was so magnificent.”
“Villon was the equivalent of a medieval punk-rock star,” adds Gray Palmer, who plays Old Villon, the priest who adopted the young slum-dweller and whose surname the poet took as his own. “Villon’s poems were full of the lingo of thieves and prostitutes. He was the original rapper, creating rhyming poetry out of street talk. When a collection of his poetry was finally published in 1489, it became an instant ‘bestseller,’ and it’s been in print continuously ever since.”
Villon opens for press on Feb. 15 and continues through March 23. Performances take place Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30. There will be two preview performances, on Thursday, Feb. 13 and Friday, Feb. 14 @ 8 p.m. The Odyssey Theatre is located at 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West Los Angeles, 90025. For reservations and information, call (310) 477-2055 ext. 2 or go to www.PaduaPlaywrights.org
|