Hoi Polloi
Republic
DUKE PERFORMANCES PREMIERE: THU, FEB 20-SAT, MAR 1, 2014
Brooklyn theater company Hoi Polloi creates full-throttle theatrical experiences that look at how Americans come together and how we fall apart. In that vein, the OBIE Award-winning company The New York Times lauded for their “audacity, invention, and talent” took on the father of western philosophy’s blueprint for nation-building: Plato’s Republic. With Republic, Hoi Polloi created a dream-like theatrical experience that tackled the massive moral questions raised by Socrates, against an ever-shifting backdrop of characters and settings.
An intimate audience at Durham’s Manbites Dog Theater joined their symposium, addressing a fundamental human question: Why be good? Artistic Director Alec Duffy, a Duke graduate, developed Republic over a two-year residency on campus; the result was an adventure that stimulated both the senses and the synapses. The piece premiered February 20, 2014, and ran for eight performances at Manbites Dog Theater in downtown Durham.
GALLERY
Photos by Michael Zirkle
CREDITS
CAST
Jess Barbagallo (Boy)
Lori E. Parquet (Socrates)
Jason Quarles (Glaucon)
PLAYWRIGHT
Noah Mease
DIRECTOR
Alec Duffy
SET DESIGN
Mimi Lien
LIGHTING DESIGN
Yi Zhao
COSTUME DESIGN
Oana Botez
COMPOSER
Steven Leffue
RECORDED VOCALS
Fay Victor
STAGE MANAGER
Liz Ray
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Michael Epting
MASTER ELECTRICIAN
Joseph Amodei
Funded, in part, with a Visiting Artist Grant from the Council for the Arts, Office of the Provost, Duke University, and support from the Department of Theater Studies at Duke University.
Republic was a co-presentation of Duke Performances and Manbites Dog Theater.
PRESS
- CVNC, Hoi Polloi Brings New Staging to an Old Topic: Plato’s The Republic
- Triangle Arts & Entertainment, Hoi Polloi Transforms Plato’s “Republic” into an Unusual and Entertaining Performance Piece
- INDY Week, An adaptation of Plato in Durham
- Duke Today, Modern Take on Plato Bridges Theater, History and Philosophy