Our next session of Reading Theatre will focus on John Lazarus’ Village of Idiots. Reading begins at 2pm so please show up by 1:45pm if you wish to have a chance to read.
PDF copy of the play for download or reading on personal devices. Limited print copies will be available.
VILLAGE OF IDIOTS
By John Lazarus
Based loosely on Eastern European Jewish folklore
Village of Idiots is a family comedy based on Eastern European Jewish folktales of the village of Chelm. Chelm is a real city in Poland, which, in the 17th through 19th centuries, was a shtetl, or small village with a significant Jewish population, and – nobody seems to know why – got the reputation among the other villages as the place where all the fools lived.
Village of Idiots weaves together dozens of traditional stories and jokes into the tale of Yosef, a deserting soldier on the run, who decides to hide out in Chelm, partly because of his attraction to young Miriam, the other Outsider in the village. At first Yosef is merely annoyed by the “Chelmniks,” who light every match in the box to make sure they all work, or who don’t understand that when you’re cutting down a tree, the saw moves and the tree stands still. But when word reaches Chelm that the Cossack soldiers are planning a pogrom – a violent raid on the village – and Yosef desperately tries to help his new neighbours prepare for the attack, the apparent foolishness of the Chelmniks ceases to be a laughing matter.
Commissioned by Young People’s Theatre of Toronto in 1985, Village of Idiots has since been produced all over the world, including a staged reading at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, and a production in Italian at the legendary Goldoni Theatre in Venice. It was adapted by the author into both an award-winning National Film Board cartoon short and an award-winning CBC Radio drama miniseries. It has been anthologized in several collections.
Reading Theatre is created for those with a passion for live theatre. A live play reading of iconic plays over the ages. All are welcome and encouraged — from the seasoned professional to the inquisitive amateur and everyone in between.
Show up and read, or listen to others read these incredible shows. A short discussion may take place…or not. This is an event led by the cast and audience.
Readers will be chosen just before the play reading begins and will be cast by those who show up and express an interest in being involved. Some roles may be double cast.
This event is being led by Allan Morgan, Senior Artist in Residence and Vancouver theatre scene stalwart. We’d love to see you there!
ABOUT ALLAN MORGAN
Allan has been a stage actor for more than thirty years. Some highlights include appearing in London, GB, Adelaide Australia, Wellington NZ and San Francisco, all with The Overcoat. He appeared for several seasons at Bard on the Beach, notably in The Tempest as Prospero, as well as King John, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing.
He has toured across Canada with the Electric Company in Studies in Motion. He has appeared at The Belfry, notably in The Drawer Boy, Dirty Blonde, and I am My Own Wife for which he received the Victoria Critic’s Award for best performance. Other favourites include Red, Thinking of Yu, and Abraham Lincoln Goes to the Theatre for ATP in Calgary.
Allan has two solo plays: I Walked the Line; and Pride: for the young gay, the ungay and the jaded queen in all of us.
