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Email: director@plspls.ca
Website: plspls.ca

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 1, 2014

An annual holiday tradition returns with

A Medieval Christmas: With Song We Seek Our Saviour
A Celebration of the Nativity with Pageants and Song

When: Friday December 12 at 7:30 pm; Saturday December 13 at 2:30 pm & 7:30 pm
Where: St Thomas’'s Anglican Church, 383 Huron St., Toronto
Tickets: $20 adult • $15 senior • $10 student
Reservations: 416-978-5096

Once again the University of Toronto’'s renowned early drama players, Poculi Ludique Societas (PLS) are teaming up with St. Thomas'’s Anglican Church to offer up a unique song-filled celebration for the holiday season. This year’'s production features a sequence of Nativity pageants drawn from what is known as the York Corpus Christi Cycle, and will include the delightful pageant called “Joseph’'s Trouble about Mary.” In this amusing play, a rather woe begotten and incredulous Joseph must be convinced that his chaste wife is indeed the Virgin Mother of God. Understandably, poor Joseph is confused, hurt, and more than a little skeptical. But with a small measure of divine intervention, Joseph eventually comes around and takes Mary to Bethlehem where destiny will play itself out.

The production is directed by Kimberley Radmacher who notes, "”Although we select Nativity pageants from various medieval texts, we try to keep things fresh by conceptualizing the productions in new and interesting ways each year.” This is achieved through production design, which is overseen by PLS Artistic Director Linda Phillips and through music selection." Toronto Masque Theatre Artistic Director, Larry Beckwith, joins the team for the first time and has worked with Radmacher to create a song-scape that includes solemn medieval Christmas hymns, as well as cherished well-known carols and even a hint of contemporary music that will appeal to everyone. PLS is celebrating 50 years of medieval and renaissance drama performance research and is part of the Centre for Performance Studies in Early Theatre (CPSET). Their robust productions have had lasting appeal with general audiences and are of particular interest to scholars and students of drama, theatre and social history.

For further information on PLS visit our website at: plspls.ca

Fulgens and Lucres

Co-production of Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies and Poculi Ludique Societas

This November, PLS will kick off its 50-year anniversary with a full-scale production of Henry Medwall’s Fulgens and Lucres, the first play to be printed in English (1504). Fulgens, a semi-serious comedy about the nature of nobility (like Shakespeare, but rawer, rougher, zanier, and written 100 years earlier) was intended to be staged as the entertainment for a banquet. Just like the original producers did, we will mount our production of Fulgens and Lucres for feast-goers in a grand dining hall with live music by Pneuma Ensemble. The opening performance will be a gala banquet in West Hall, University College, 15 Kings College Circle, on Saturday November 8, followed by a matinee on Sunday November 9. For the second weekend (November 14-16) we will move to the Luella Massey Studio Theatre, 4 Glen Morris Street, where there will be a more modest “banquet” setting.

**Due to limited seating, gala performance tickets must be purchased in advance by Monday November 3^rd. Reservations for other performances should be made by calling the box office: 416 978-7986.

Director: Matthew Milo Sergi
Producer: Kimberley Radmacher
Costume Designer: Linda Phillips
Musicians: Pneuma Ensemble

Performances: West Hall, University College:

Gala Banquet: November 8 at 7 pm for 7:30 – Tickets $80
Matinee: Sunday November 9 at 2 pm – Tickets $20/ $15 Senior/ $10 Student

Luella Massey Studio Theatre, 4 Glen Morris Street

Friday, November 14, 7:30 pm
Saturday, November 15, &:30 pm
Sunday November 16, 2 pm

Tickets: All Performances $20/ $15 Senior/ $10 Student

Box Office: 416 978-7986

Dear friends of PLS,

Our Annual General Meeting is next Friday, June 6 at 10:00-12:00. It will take place in Room 103 of the Lillian Massey Building, 125 Queen’s Park (at Bloor). All members and supporters are invited. Come learn about plans for the upcoming season! We hope to see you there.

Cheers,
Katherine, office manager

Refreshments will be provided–what a party! (NB: Refreshments may not be exactly as pictured.)
Photo: Don Juan, Ladykiller of Seville, 2004

Photos from the Rules of Love dress rehearsal are now up in our gallery.

A second audition call has been added for Rules of Love. Read all the details here (PDF) and sign up!

Non-union; Non-paying

Auditions February 20-22, 2014

Rules of Love: Lancelot of Denmark and Of Winter and Summer

Poculi Ludique Societas is producing two medieval plays about love and sex translated from the Middle Dutch Van Hulthem Manuscript (dated 1400-1410). Lancelot of Denmark was an extremely popular romance which continued to be performed well into the 18th century. Of Winter and Summer is a humorous debate between allegorical figures about the most appropriate season for … love.

Performance Dates:

April 24-27 2014

Venue:

Robert Gill Theatre

Auditions:

Directors Charlotte Steenbrugge and Adam Nashman are looking for versatile performers who could potentially double roles in both plays. Please prepare a contemporary monologue; you may also be asked to read from the plays.

Roles:

Lancelot of Denmark:

• Sandrine: a beautiful, innocent young maiden
• Lancelot: a lovesick young prince
• The Queen: Lancelot’s proud and devious mother
• The Knight: a noble knight
• Reynald: Lancelot’s trusted friend and servant
• Forester: servant to The Knight

Of Winter and Summer:

• Winter, Summer, Venus
• Winter’s gang: Lazybones, Blabber
• Summer’s gang: Handsome, Braggart, Tramp

Auditions by appointment only. Please contact director@plspls.ca for appointment and details of location.

Audition Times:

Thursday February 20 5–8 pm; Friday February 21 5–8 pm; Saturday February 22, 10:30am–12:30 pm.

For almost 50 years, Poculi Ludique Societas has been producing medieval and renaissance plays from England and Europe. PLS productions offer emerging artists a great opportunity to add to their repertoire of early drama performance. Find out more about PLS at www.plspls.ca

A couple of brief updates:

• Lancelot of Denmark and Of Winter and Summer performances will take place April 24–27, 2014. Further details to be announced!
• Call for Papers: Love, Sex and Romance in Early Drama
• Dress rehearsal photos from A Medieval Christmas: Such Splendid Sight Was Never Seen can be seen on our Flickr site

We have been receiving phone calls, email messages and website comments from people concerned that they will not be able to get a ticket for A Medieval Christmas: Such Splendid Sight Was Never Seen.

As the angel says (although not in this show), “Fear not!” St Thomas’s is a large church. While tickets sell well for this event, we have never run out of seats. If you arrive with cash in hand, you should be fine. Seating is general admission.

Our Winter 2013 newsletter is now available in printable PDF form here.