“And yet now I think on’t, if I am I (as I am I), he cannot be I.”
A beautiful woman, Alcmena, is the object of the God Jupiter’s desire. To seduce her, he assumes the body of her husband Amphitryon, before his return from battle. The consequences of his act, and her innocent adultery, turn the human world upside down, with consequences both brilliantly funny and emotionally fraught. As comic and perturbing events unfold, the mortals are forced to face a terrifying prospect; they are no longer the only versions of themselves.
Dryden’s richly inventive, and highly entertaining, play was one of the favourite centrepieces of the eighteenth-century repertoire. His script stretched the technical limits of its stages. In this modern dress production we will be the using state-of-the-art resources of the Department’s theatres
to deliver contemporary equivalents to the spectacle he aimed for.
We hope that you will be able to join us for this unique
theatrical experience.
15– 18 June. The Department of Theatre, Film and Television. University of York.
University of York Department of Theatre, Film and Television 