Friday, October 19, 2001

Wilmington – As part of its Arts in Action Performing Arts Series, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington will host the Aquila Theatre Company of London in its production of The Wrath of Achilles at 2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 11, in Kenan Auditorium.

Based upon Homer’s epic war poem The Iliad, this original work tells the story of the near-defeat of the Greeks at the hands of the advancing Trojans; Achilles’ stubborn refusal to fight in the war; the tragic death of his great friend Patrouclus; and the great hero's eventual return to the battlefield to face the Trojan warrior Hector. The company uses movement, music, dance and drama to produce this age-old epic tale of human conflict.

The Aquila Theatre Company, which is known for its bold and innovative staging of Greek drama, has an international reputation as one of the foremost producers of touring classic theatre. In The New York Times, Chris Hedges described the company’s Iliad: Book One as “a performance of staggering power.” Set in a World War II battalion, Peter Meineck, Aquila’s founder and producing artistic director, did not alter the text for The Wrath of Achilles from the original Greek translation.

Based in London, England, the company was founded in 1991. It has won critical academic acclaim for its work worldwide and has toured throughout Europe, the United States and Canada. The troupe received a prize for dramatic excellence from the Greek government and two prestigious British Council Touring Awards.

Meineck has produced more than 10 plays including Aristophanes’ Frogs, Aeschylus’ Agamemnon and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, also composed and arranged music for Scottish and English radio and television. Members of Aquila studies at Britain’s top drama academies including the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, London Academy of Music/Drama/Art, and The Royal Scottish Academy.

Tickets are $5.50 for UNCW students and children age 12 and under; $11.50 for UNCW faculty/staff; and $17.50 for all others and are on sale at Kenan Auditorium Ticket Office. Call 962-3500, or 1-800-732-3643. Ticket office hours are noon to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

For more information, contact Shannon Hooker at 910/962-7600 or e-mail hookers@uncwil.edu, or visit the Web site www.uncwil.edu/stuaff/arts. A photo is available for download at www.uncwil.edu/news/releases/october01/aquila.html.