The Pocahontas County Opera House welcomes West Virginia’s only touring Shakespeare troupe to Marlinton on July 28 at 7:30 p.m.
The Rustic Mechanicals, founded by Celi Oliveto, is the state’s only professional Shakespeare troupe and part of the Vintage Theatre Company. This season’s “No Rhyme Nor Reason Tour” marks the troupe’s fifth statewide tour and its first appearance in Pocahontas County.
The night before their appearance at the Opera House, the Yew Mountain Center will host the Mechanicals on Friday, July 27 for their unique Speak the Speech ‘Shakespeareoke’ event. Speak the Speech is an interactive spoken word event that centers around the work and words of William Shakespeare.
The troupe will then head to Marlinton on Saturday, July 28 for a 7:30 p.m. performance of The Comedy of Errors at the Pocahontas County Opera House.
Two sets of identical twins spell double trouble in Shakespeare’s zaniest comedy. Who would have guessed that Antipholus’ long-lost identical twin had just arrived in town? Or that his servant, Dromio, also had a newly-landed identical twin? Sheer confusion and delightful nonsense reign in Shakespeare’s most madcap comedy, culminating in a series of misunderstandings that brings everyone to the brink of hysteria.
Tickets for the Opera House performance are $10 for adults and free for anyone 17 years old and younger. Tickets are available at pocahontasoperahouse.org, the Fourth Avenue Gallery in Marlinton, and at the door the evening of the performance.
Performances at the Opera House are informal, family-friendly and open to all. The entrance and main seating are accessible to persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities are encouraged to attend; special accommodations can be arranged upon request by calling 304-799-6645.
The Opera House Performance Series is presented with financial assistance through a grant from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts. Support is also provided by Pocahontas County Drama, Fairs and Festivals and the Pocahontas County Convention and Visitors Bureau.