"The Waste Land in Black and White," the first in the Drama Department's season of five performance projects inspired by T.S. Eliot's 1922 poem "The Waste Land," focuses on Eliot's incorporation of a plethora of cultural, literary, philosophical and historical references, interwoven to create the story of "The Waste Land."
"The Waste Land in Black and White" takes as its starting point Eliot's reference to Virgil's Greco-Roman tragic love story of Dido and Aeneas. The project also exhibits an English Baroque influence through its integration of Baroque costume and music from the 1689 Henry Purcell opera, "Dido and Aeneas."
Juxtaposed against its austere, industrial setting, "The Waste Land in Black and White" uses impassioned drama, dance, and music to tell the fiery and tragic story of modern-day actors rehearsing the "Dido and Aeneas" opera. As the rehearsal process progresses, the actors' desires and actions strangely begin to parallel those of their ancient characters.
Mirroring the way Eliot weaves his story of "The Waste Land" from a tapestry of famous tales and cultural genres, "The Waste Land in Black and White" constructs its own story through a coming together of the contemporary with the Classical and Baroque--and, with the performance genres of dance, drama and music all operating in unison, thus ignites a vibrant and dynamic dramatic synergy.