LOCATION
Online
ADMISSION
FREE and open to public
EVENT TIMES
Fri, Jan 15, 2021 · 7:00 pm
Sat, Jan 16, 2021 · 2:00 pm
Sat, Jan 16, 2021 · 8:00 pm
Sun, Jan 17, 2021 · 2:00 pm
ABOUT THE SHOW
The Program in Theater presents the first fully-staged production of Unbecoming, a play by Princeton theater alumna Emma Watkins ’18.
Lady Charlotte Guest is a Victorian housewife and mother of seven. Much to her husband’s dismay, she aspires to become the first person to translate the Mabinogion — a collection of ancient Welsh stories — into English. Through her translation, she encounters Blodeuwedd, a woman conjured from flowers as a wife for her creator and punished for her infidelity. As Charlotte struggles to reconcile her creative ambitions with 19th-century expectations of marriage and motherhood, she must also confront the power and responsibility she holds in retelling Blodeuwedd’s story.
Performed by a cast of six in a unique outdoor setting and presented as a filmed theatrical production, Unbecoming serves as a senior thesis for Paige Allen (dramaturg, Charlotte) and Eliana Cohen-Orth (director, Wife of England/Gwydion).
HOW TO WATCH
Watch the live recording of Unbecoming on the video performance page at the scheduled times above. The video will only be available for a one-hour and 45-minute window, so viewers should plan to tune in by the start times to watch the video in its entirety. All performances and talkback discussions are free and open to the public.
JOIN THE DISCUSSIONS
On Saturday, January 16, at 9:45 p.m. after the evening show, join us for a live audience talkback discussion with director Eliana Cohen-Orth, technical director and video editor Adam Olkin, and other members of the team about the process of making this unique filmed theatre piece in pandemic conditions.
REGISTER FOR THE JANUARY 16 TALKBACK
On Sunday, January 17, at 3:45 p.m. (EST) after the afternoon show, join us for a live audience talkback discussion with playwright Emma Watkins and scholar Sioned Davies to discuss the Mabinogion, Charlotte Guest, and the arts of translation and adaptation. Davies is the former Chair of Welsh at Cardiff University and the first woman to translate the Mabinogion since Charlotte Guest.