Travesties

Burning Coal Theatre Company is staging Travesties at Burning Coal Theatre, 224 Polk Street in Raleigh, with performances running from October 8 through October 25. It's a fast-talking comedy by Tom Stoppard, and if you're not familiar with his work, this is a good place to start. The play is set in 1917 Zurich, where an unknown actor named Henry Carr is cast in a production of The Importance of Being Earnest and finds himself in a small circle of expatriates that includes James Joyce, Tristan Tzara—the founder of the Dadaist movement—and Vladimir Lenin. It's a play where history, memory, and total absurdity collide, and it's described as sharp, chaotic, and wildly funny. The production earned a 2018 Tony Award nomination for Best Revival of a Play.

The cast includes Vuitton Bond, Alexandra Finazzo, John Jimerson, Dan Oliver, Ryan Pater, Steven Roten, Edith Snow, and Jenn Suchanec, with Flora Bare directing. It's a large ensemble for a show that centers on a few historical figures, so there's plenty of movement across the stage. Burning Coal is a Raleigh company, and they've also hosted free workshops for young and emerging theatre professionals, so this production fits right into their broader work in the local scene.

Shows run at 7:30 PM, and tickets are $20 to $30. If you're planning to go, keep in mind that the run goes through October 25, so you've got a few weeks to find a night that works.