Lyly!

For the first time in 400 years, John Lyly’s witty & courtly love pastoral:

Love’s Metamorphosis

Directed by Cecilia Dorland

&

Produced by Leonie Scott-Matthews

“I do not think Love hath any spark of divinity in him.

What reason have we, then, to follow its fading delights with such passion?”

Love’s Metamorphosis is a witty love comedy written by John Lyly in the closing years of the 16th century. Two Olympian gods are at war – this time over Love. Three amorous foresters find their advances repeatedly spurned by the objects of their affections – the nymphs belonging to the goddess of the harvest, Ceres. Disheartened, they seek the help of Cupid to win over their loves.

While Lyly’s play remains fast-paced and entertaining to the very end, it is also surprisingly modern in its complex female characters and timeless exploration of the art of love.

Cecilia Dorland is directing an ensemble cast who have previously worked in productions at the Globe, Roundhouse, Pleasance and Greenwich Theatre. Cecilia has directed and assistant-directed numerous classical pieces. She is an expert on John Lyly and Renaissance drama and was a researcher at Shakespeare’s Globe.

For press information and reviewing tickets please contact the Pentameters Theatre on Telephone 020 7435 3648
- Email: theatre@pentameters.co.uk

Pentameters’ Theatre, 28 Heath Street, London NW3 6TE

Dates: Tuesday 10^th  - Sunday 29th September 2013

Times: Mon - Sat 8pm, Sun 5pm.

Prices:  £12 / £10 Concessions

Booking: Box Office – 0207 435 3648

Essex: The cultural impact of an Elizabethan courtier

One-Day Symposium

Saturday 26^th October, 12-4.30pm

Sheffield Hallam University, Cantor Building, City Campus

Please contact A.F.Connolly@shu.ac.uk to register

This one-day symposium marks the publication of a new collection of essays about the life and cultural impact of Robert Devereux, second earl of Essex. It brings together scholars who have been involved with the collection and whose research continues to engage with some of the issues and questions raised by their work for the volume. The papers will consider a selection of the diverse visual and textual manifestations of Essex and his circle in poetry and portraiture, as well as in texts produced by the earl himself.

There is no registration fee and refreshments will be provided, but we do require you to e-mail us in advance to book a place: A.F.Connolly@shu.ac.uk

12 noon - Arrival and Coffee
Room 9003

12.15 – Session One

12.15 - Welcome and Opening Remarks – Lisa Hopkins (Sheffield Hallam University)

12.30 '"Mine excuse must only be the worthiness of former precedents": Gervase Markham’s English Arcadia and the Earl of Essex's Sidneian Inheritance'. Richard Wood (Sheffield Hallam University)

1.15 Lunch

2.15 – 3.15pm – Session Two

'More Poetry by the Earl of Essex?' Hugh Gazzard (St. Hugh’s College, Oxford)

'From Imitation to Counterfeit: Essex’s hand in correspondence'. Andrew Gordon (University of Aberdeen).

3.15-3.30pm - Coffee

3.30-4.30pm

'"Still renewing wronges": Gheeraert's Persian Lady Revealed'. Chris Laoutaris (Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham) and Yasmin Arshad (University College London)

4.30pm Closing Remarks and conclusion of Symposium