October 27, 2010
Venus. Download image.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Theatre will present contemporary playwright Suzan-Lori Parks' eighth play, "Venus," a gripping, theatrical depiction of 19th-century Hottentot Saartjie "Sarah" Baartman.
"Venus" re-imagines the often-disputed real life story of Baartman, known in Europe as the Venus Hottentot. In 1810, Baartman, a Khoi woman, was taken to England from what is now South Africa. Due to her unique physical appearance to Europeans, she was exhibited for years as an oddity and in freak shows across Great Britain and France, often caged and nude or partially nude, according to the UAB production's dramaturg, Shan Hunter Sheikh. Curiosity faded and Baartman was dead of contested causes within five years of arriving in Europe.
"Venus," directed by Theatre UAB's Karla Koskinen, will be performed at 7:30 p.m. nightly Nov. 10-13 and Nov. 17-20 and at 2 p.m. Nov. 21, 2010, in UAB's Alys Stephens Center Odess Theatre, 1200 10th Ave. South. This show contains adult language and themes. Tickets are $15; $7 for students and $12 for UAB employees and senior citizens. Call 205-975-2787 for tickets. Visit the UAB Department of Theatre at www.uab.edu/cas/theatre/
With "Venus," Parks manipulates the known historical facts concerning Baartman into a postmodern history that investigates the still present preoccupation with the physique of the African woman, Sheikh says. The irreverence and circus-like situations depicted in "Venus" free Parks from the limits of moral judgment and push the play into a variety of thematic directions.
The New Yorker called it "a formidable experience: a gnarly but brilliant meditation on the ambiguity of race, history, the colonized imagination, sexuality and theatrical storytelling itself." Parks has received multiple awards in her career as a playwright, including a 2001 MacArthur Foundation grant. In 2002, Parks became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the play "Topdog/Underdog."
The nearly all-Alabama cast of Theatre UAB's "Venus" is Jasmaine McCorvey of Montgomery as Venus, Josh Butler of Leeds as The Baron Docteur, Trista Baker of Corner as The Mother-Showman, Tim Craig of Pratt City as The Negro Resurrectionist, Natalie Kinsaul of Birmingham as Bride-to-Be, Elena Ray of Jasper as Mother, Brett Blaylock of Birmingham as Young Man/Chorus, Matt Sanford of Tupelo, Miss., as Father/Chorus, Taylor Campbell of Arab as Uncle/Chorus, and Brittney Williams of Pratt City, Whitney Rooks of Centre and Byron King of Prattville complete the Chorus.
About the UAB Department of Theatre
The UAB Department of Theatre has won the highest honors awarded to university theaters, including best in region from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF). In 2008, UAB's production of "In the Blood" was one of three shows chosen by KCACTF from 300 in consideration nationwide. Faculty members in the department continue to work professionally in addition to teaching. UAB Theatre performances are presented at the Alys Stephens Center, UAB's own world-class performing arts center. This year the department celebrates its 40th anniversary. It is part of the UAB College of Arts and Sciences, home to academic disciplines that include the arts, humanities, sciences and the School of Education.