The Lacuna Group production of William Shakespeare’s Coriolanus will be performed on Saturday, October 25, and Sunday, October 26, at 3:00 pm in the new Greenville Street Park in Newnan. The performance is free.

There will be an additional performance on Saturday, November 1, as a benefit for the Newnan Community Theare Company on First Avenue. That performance will be at 8:00 pm ; donations will be taken at the door.

In case of rain, the October 25 performance will take place in the Parish House of the First United Methodist Church. There is not a backup venue for the Sunday performance; if the performance is rained out, it will be canceled.

Thirty minutes before the play begins, at 2:30 on October 25 and 26, and at 7:30 on November 1, members of the cast will have a discussion about the play with audience members who are interested in knowing more about the play before they see it.

Coriolanus tells the story of Caius Martius (Jeff Bishop), a Roman general who “fights dragonlike” in Rome’s wars with the Volsces, but when his mother Volumnia (Marc Honea) pushes him to stand for consul—Rome’s highest office—his contempt for the common people becomes a problem.

The people’s representatives, the tribunes Sicinius (Greg Lee) and Brutus (Dan Coleman), make it their business to keep the people riled up and angry at Martius. Eventually they manage to exile him after pushing him to explode in anger at the plebeians.

Martius seeks out his greatest enemy, the Volscian warrior Aufidius (Dale Lyles), and offers his services to the Volscian state. As he marauds through Roman territroy with the enemy army, Rome panics and sends various emissaries to Martius to convince him not to invade the city, including his old general Cominius (John Bilon) and the old family friend Menenius (Kevin McInturff).

However, it is only when his mother and his wife (Jeff Allen) come to appeal to him that he relents. Volumnia is hailed as the savior of Rome, but she knows that it has cost her her son.

Also in the cast is Scott Stroud, who plays a variety of senators, citizens, and messengers.

It is suggested that the audience bring seating (chairs or blankets), sunglasses, and “a hat with a brim to keep the sun out of your eyes,” said Lyles. Sunscreen would probably be a good idea as well. There are no restrooms in the park. There will be one intermission.

“We have been absolutely astounded at how contemporary the characters in this play are,” said Jeff Bishop. “We have seen every turn of events, every character trait, every sentiment in the play mirrored in our own election.”

Marc Honea agreed. “Audience members will spend a lot of the play either chuckling in recognition or being appalled as they see their favorite candidate—or their least favorite—appear in the business of the play.”

Information on the Lacuna Group is available on their website http://lacunagroup.org/.

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