The fairy tales of Oscar Wilde at Shaking The Tree Theatre and a racial pride and prejudice story at defunkt Theatre. Artistic director Samantha Van der Merwe joins Dmae with playwright Karin Magaldi and actor Samson Syharath of Wilde Tales. We’ll hear about lesser known tales of self-sacrifice and loyalty.

And then we’ll feature defunkt Theatre’s season opener The Submission by Jeffrey Talbot about a gay playwrights who hires an African American woman to be his front. (Encores 11am Sat 9/28 on KZME 107.1fm)

Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde

More about Wilde Tales: In 1884 Wilde married Constance Lloyd, and his two sons were born in 1885 and 1886. His children inspired him to write a collection of fairy tales found in two separate books: The Happy Prince and A House of Pomegranates.

Shaking the Tree performs six of the tales: The Fisherman and his Soul, The Happy Prince, The Selfish Giant, The Nightingale and the Rose, The Remarkable Rocket & The Birthday of the Infanta. Shaking the Tree Theatre presents Wilde Tales, the Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde, adapted by Karin Magaldi and directed by Samantha Van Der Merwe.

Performances are October 11th– November 9th (Friday & Saturday evenings at 7:30pm, Saturday afternoons at 2:00pm, and Sunday afternoons at 5:00pm).

Samantha Van de Merwe, Karin Magaldi & Samson Syharath
Samantha Van De Merwe, Karin Magaldi & Samson Syharath

All shows are at Shaking The Tree Theatre, 1407 SE Stark St, Recommended for ages 9 & up.  Tickets are $22 ($18 for Students & Seniors) Reserve tickets at www.shaking-the-tree.com or  the box office at 503 235-0635. 

In this podcast, Van De Merwe talks about her earliest memory of when her mother read Wilde’s fairy tales to her. While she enjoyed the magical tales, she looked up to see her mother weeping at the poignancy and beauty of the the sales of self-sacrifice and the cruelty of the outside world.

Magaldi describes the process writing with the ensemble and Syharath gives a moving reading of a section of Wilde’s Tales.  

Listen now or right-click to download the podcast.

_____________________________________________________ defunkt

And in the latter part of the show, hear defunkt theatre tell us about the Portland premiere of The Submission by Jeffrey Talbot and directed by Andrew Klaus-Vineyard.  A struggling white gay playwright writes a play about an African American family escaping inner city poverty. When it is accepted, he hires an African American actress to be act as the playwright. The Submission won the 2012 New York Outer Critics Award for Best New Play. Cast includes Matthew Kern, Matthew Dieckman, Bjorn Anderson and Andrea White.

October 11-November 16 2013 Thursdays – Sundays at 7:30 pm (no show Sunday October 13 or Thursday October 31 ) At the Back Door Theater • 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd. in Portland. Pay-what-you-can Thursdays & Sundays, Sliding Scale $15-$25 Fridays and Saturdays.
Reservations: visit defunktheatre.com or  call 503 481 2960. 
Special post show Talk Back Event October 26th with The August Wilson Red Door Project.
_____________________________________________________
You can hear Stage & Studio on: