Spring 2017 Schedule

All eight films will be screened in the Raymond J. Estep Multimedia Center located inside the Bill S. Cole University Center (near the corner of E. 13th Street and South Francis) on the campus of East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma.

Tickets are available at the door for $10 per person or $5 for students (with ID) unless otherwise noted.

Friday, January 13 at 7 p.m.
NO MAN'S LAND
By Harold Pinter. NT Live.
Starring Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen.

Tuesday, January 31 at 7 p.m.
FRANKENSTEIN
By Nick Dear; based on the novel by Mary Shelley NT Live.
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Frankenstein and Jonny Lee Miller as the Creature.

ECU's SIXTH ANNUAL FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL
FREE FOREIGN FILMS: FRIDAYS IN FEBRUARY AT FOUR

Friday, February 3 at 4 pm
THE BLACK HEN
Directed by Min Bahadur Bham. Nepal; Free.

Friday, February 10 at  4 pm
LABYRINTH OF LIES
Directed by Giulio Ricciarelli. Germany; Free.

Friday, February 17 at 4 pm
THE GOLDEN DREAM 
Directed by Diego Quemada-Díez. Mexico; Free.

Friday, February 24 at 4 pm
WHERE DO WE GO NOW? 
Directed by Nadine Labaki. Lebanon; Free.

Thursday, March 23 at 7 pm
ANNA KARENINA 

Directed and choreographed by Angelica Cholina; based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy. Stage Russia HD; Free.

Thursday, April 13 at 7:30 pm
AMADEUS
By Peter Shaffer. NT Live.

No Man's Land

On Friday, January 13th at 7 pm in the Estep: Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart star in Harold Pinter’s "No Man's Land,"recorded live at Wyndham’s Theatre, London.

One summer's evening, two aging writers, Hirst and Spooner, meet in a Hampstead pub and continue their drinking into the night at Hirst's stately house nearby. As the pair become increasingly inebriated, and their stories increasingly unbelievable, the lively conversation soon turns into a revealing power game, further complicated by the return home of two sinister younger men.

Don’t miss this glorious revival of Pinter’s comic classic. The broadcast will be followed by an exclusive Q&A with the cast and director Sean Mathias.

War Horse

Wednesday, December 21st at 2:00 p.m. in the Estep: the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain's production of "War Horse."

Since its first performance at the National Theatre in 2007, War Horse has become an international smash hit, capturing the imagination of millions of people around the world.

Based on Michael Morpurgo’s novel and adapted for the stage by Nick Stafford, War Horse takes audiences on an extraordinary journey from the fields of rural Devon to the trenches of First World War France. Filled with stirring music and songs, this powerfully moving and imaginative drama is a show of phenomenal inventiveness. At its heart are astonishing life-size puppets by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, who bring breathing, galloping, charging horses to thrilling life on stage.

We'll serve free ice cream during the interval.

The Three Penny Opera

Friday, December 16th at 7:00 p.m. in the Estep: the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain's production of "The Threepenny Opera" by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, in collaboration with Elisabeth Hauptmann in a new adaptation by Simon Stephens. First performed in Berlin in 1928, when Germany was on the cusp of a period of political extremity, Brecht's comic opera shines a deliberately unattractive light on a narcissistic, morally despicable strongman and the society that empowers him. Rated “R” due to “filthy language and immoral behavior." Runtime: 3 hours (including a 20-minute interval--we'll serve ice cream. Olivier-Award winner Rory Kinnear is Mack the Knife in a new version of this landmark twentieth-century musical, captured-live on of the stage of the National Theatre in London.

The Deep Blue Sea

Tuesday, November 29 at 7:30 pm in the Estep: "The Deep Blue Sea," starring Helen McCrory. Run time: 2 hours 30 mins, including a 20 min.interval (ice cream will be served: free!).

Helen McCrory plays one of the greatest female roles in contemporary drama in Terence Rattigan’s devastating masterpiece in this recorded-live, 5-star 2016 National Theatre production.

A flat in Ladbroke Grove, West London. 1952.

When Hester Collyer is found by her neighbors in the aftermath of a failed suicide attempt, the story of her tempestuous affair with a former RAF pilot and the breakdown of her marriage to a High Court judge begins to emerge.

With it comes a portrait of need, loneliness and long-repressed passion. Behind the fragile veneer of post-war civility burns a brutal sense of loss and longing.

Come early for an Active Minds mental and emotional health informational session and Q&A, featuring: Jennifer Cox (MS, LPC), the Director of ECU's Student Counseling Center; and Susan Youngblood (MS, LPC), Clinical Counselor in ECU's Student Counseling Center. Finger foods and snacks will be served for those attending the meeting, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Estep.

Frankenstein

Thursday, October 27th at 7:30 p.m. in the Raymond J. Estep Multimedia Center at East Central University. General admission $10, $5 for ECU Students. Click here for more information for this recorded-live Royal National Theatre production, directed by Danny Boyle and starring Jonny Lee Miller as Victor Frankenstein and Benedict Cumberbatch as the Creature.

This production contains scenes of sexual nature and violence and is not recommended for children.

Come early to witness an Honors Present the Sciences: Humanities vs. The Sciences Iron Cage Match, pitting Dr. Carl Gilbert, Dean of ECU's College of Health and Sciences, and Dr. Ken Andrews, Chair of ECU's Department of Biology, against Dr. Jennifer McMahon and Dr. Joshua Grasso, of ECU's Department of English and Languages, in a no-holds-barred discussion of contemporary biological research that would give Dr. Frankenstein chills.

When modern science is capable of such marvels, why should students of today spend time in Humanities courses discussing works of fantasy written hundreds of years ago?

The Iron Cage Match will begin in the Estep at 6:00 (new time) and is free and open to the public.

Hangmen

Monday, August 29th at 7:30 p.m. in the Raymond J. Estep Multimedia Center at East Central University. General admission $10, $5 for ECU Students. Click here for more information about this Royal Court Theatre production, which won 2016 Olivier Awards for Best New Play and Best Set Design.


Come at 6:30 to hear ECU professor of political and legal studies Dr. Christine Pappas give a talk on the death penalty in Oklahoma entitled “Oklahoma’s Legacy of Tinkering with the Machinery of Death.”

Fall 2016 Schedule

All films will be screened in the Raymond J. Estep Multimedia Center located inside the Bill S. Cole University Center (near the corner of E. 13th Street and South Francis) on the campus of East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma.

Tickets are available at the door for $10 per person or $5 for students (with ID) unless otherwise noted.

Monday, August 29th at 7:30 pm 
HANGMEN
by Martin McDonagh

Following a sell-out run at London’s Royal Court Theatre, Olivier and Academy Award® winner Martin McDonagh (The Pillowman, The Cripple of Inishmaan, In Bruges) returns to the West End with Matthew Dunster’s award-winning production of his deeply funny new play Hangmen, winner of the 2016 Olivier Award for Best New Play and Best Set Design.

In his small pub in the northern English town of Oldham, Harry (David Morrissey – The Walking Dead, State of Play) is something of a local celebrity. But what's the second-best hangman in England to do on the day they've abolished hanging?

Among the cub reporters and pub regulars dying to hear Harry’s reaction to the news, his old assistant Syd (Andy Nyman – Peaky Blinders, Death at a Funeral) and the peculiar Mooney (Johnny Flynn – Clouds of Sils Maria) lurk with very different motives for their visit.

Before the screening of "Hangmen," at 6:30, Dr. Christine Pappas, ECU professor of political and legal studies, will give a talk on the death penalty in Oklahoma entitled “Oklahoma’s Legacy of Tinkering with the Machinery of Death.” The talk is free and open to the public.

Thursday, October 27th at 7:30 pm

FRANKENSTEIN
by Nick Dear, based on the novel by Mary Shelley

Directed by Academy Award®-winner Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, Steve Jobs), this thrilling production features Benedict Cumberbatch (BBC’s Sherlock, The Imitation Game) as Victor Frankenstein and Jonny Lee Miller (CBS’s Elementary, Trainspotting) as his creation (in the Spring of 2017, we expect to show a version in which Cumberbatch and Miller switch roles).

The production was a sell-out hit at the National Theatre in 2011, and the broadcast has since become an international sensation, experienced by over half a million people in cinemas around the world.

Childlike in his innocence but grotesque in form, Frankenstein’s bewildered Creature is cast out into a hostile universe by his horror-struck maker. Meeting with cruelty wherever he goes, the friendless Creature, increasingly desperate and vengeful, determines to track down his creator and strike a terrifying deal.

Urgent concerns of scientific responsibility, parental neglect, cognitive development and the nature of good and evil are embedded within this thrilling and deeply disturbing classic gothic tale.

Contains scenes of a sexual nature and violence. Not recommended for children.

Before the screening of "Frankenstein," at 6:00, Dr. Carl Gilbert, Dean of ECU's College of Health and Sciences, will participate in a "Humanities vs. Sciences Iron Cage Match" with the Chair of ECU's Biology Department, Dr. Ken Andrews, and Drs. Jennifer McMahon and Joshua Grasso, professors in ECU's English and Languages Department. The Iron Cage Match is free and open to the public.

Wednesday, November 16th at 2 pm

HAMLET
by William Shakespeare

Academy Award® nominee Benedict Cumberbatch (BBC’s Sherlock, The Imitation Game) takes on the title role of Shakespeare’s great tragedy.

Directed by Lyndsey Turner (Posh, Chimerica) and produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, the original 2015 broadcast was experienced by over half a million people worldwide.

As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge his father’s death but paralyzed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state. 

Tuesday, November 29th at 7:30 pm

DEEP BLUE SEA
by Terence Rattigan

A flat in Ladbroke Grove, West London. 1952.

When Hester Collyer is found by her neighbours in the aftermath of a failed suicide attempt, the story of her tempestuous affair with a former RAF pilot and the breakdown of her marriage to a High Court judge begins to emerge. With it comes a portrait of need, loneliness and long-repressed passion.

Behind the fragile veneer of post-war civility burns a brutal sense of loss and longing.

Friday, December 16th at 7:00 pm

THE THREEPENNY OPERA
By Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, in collaboration with Elisabeth Hauptmann in a new adaptation by Simon Stephens.



Mack the Knife is back in town.

A darkly comic new take on Brecht and Weill’s raucous musical recorded live on the stage of the National Theatre.

London scrubs up for the coronation. The thieves are on the make, the whores on the pull, the police cutting deals to keep it all out of sight. Mr and Mrs Peachum are looking forward to a bumper day in the beggary business, but their daughter didn’t come home last night and it’s all about to kick off …

With Olivier Award-winner Rory Kinnear (Hamlet, Othello, James Bond), as Macheath alongside Rosalie Craig (As You Like It, My Family and other Animals) as Polly Peachum and Haydn Gwynne (The Windsors, Drop the Dead Donkey) as Mrs Peachum.

This bold, anarchic production is brought to you by a creative powerhouse; adapted by Simon Stephens, (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), and directed by Rufus Norris, (Everyman, London Road).

Contains scenes of a sexual nature, violence and filthy language. Not recommended for children.

Wednesday, December 21st at 2:00 pm

WAR HORSE
Based on the beloved novel by Michael Morpurgo, adapted by Nick Stafford

Since its first performance at the National Theatre in 2007, War Horse has become an international smash hit, capturing the imagination of millions of people around the world.

Based on Michael Morpurgo’s novel and adapted for the stage by Nick Stafford, War Horse takes audiences on an extraordinary journey from the fields of rural Devon to the trenches of First World War France. Filled with stirring music and songs, this powerfully moving and imaginative drama is a show of phenomenal inventiveness. At its heart are astonishing life-size puppets by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, who bring breathing, galloping, charging horses to thrilling life on stage.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Thursday, July 14th is Bastille Day, 2016. Celebrate with us by a recorded-live presentation of London's Donmar Warehouse 2016 production of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses." At 7 p.m. in the Raymond J. Estep Multimedia Center at East Central University. General admission $10, $5 for ECU Students.

One Man, Two Guvnors

Get your laugh on with James Corden on Saturday, June 25th at 2 p.m. in the Raymond J. Estep Multimedia Center at East Central University. General Admission: $10.

Following the screening, you may want to check out Ada's second annual 1901 Fest, which will be hosted in the ECU Plaza from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. 1901 Fest will feature three musical acts, food trucks, and local vendors. The musical acts will include Brian Nihre, a former contestant on The Voice. According to their website, "The family-friendly festival includes retail booths, face painting, children's activities, a beverage garden provided by The Quart House and food vendors including Dippin' Dots, Nacho Biznez, and Mr. Tater Cater. Lawn chairs and/or blankets are encouraged as seating will not be provided. Named after the year Ada was incorporated as a city, 1910 Fest is open to the public and is free to attend."

Summer 2016 Schedule

Both films will be screened in the Raymond J. Estep Multimedia Center located inside the Bill S. Cole University Center (near the corner of E. 13th Street and South Francis) on the campus of East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma.

Tickets are available at the door for $10 per person or $5 for students (with ID) unless otherwise noted.

Thursday, July 14th at 7 pm

LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES
by Christopher Hampton

Following the hugely successful broadcasts of Coriolanus and King Lear, National Theatre Live brings the Donmar Warehouse’s highly anticipated new production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses to cinemas - broadcast live from the Donmar’s London home.

Directed by Josie Rourke (Coriolanus), the cast includes Elaine Cassidy (The Paradise), Janet McTeer (The Honourable Woman) and Dominic West (The Wire). In 1782, Choderlos de Laclos’ novel of sex, intrigue and betrayal in pre-revolutionary France scandalised the world. Two hundred years later, Christopher Hampton's irresistible adaptation swept the board, winning the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Play. Josie Rourke’s revival now marks the play’s thirty year anniversary.

Former lovers, the Marquise de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont now compete in games of seduction and revenge. Merteuil incites Valmont to corrupt the innocent Cecile de Volanges before her wedding night but Valmont has targeted the peerlessly virtuous and beautiful Madame de Tourvel. While these merciless aristocrats toy with others’ hearts and reputations, their own may prove more fragile than they supposed.

Saturday, June 27th at 2 pm
ENCORE: Saturday, August 9th at 2 pm

ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS
by Richard Bean

For a limited time only, National Theatre Live’s Encore Series brings a selection of award-winning British theatre productions to your local cinema.

Featuring a Tony Award-winning performance from host of the The Late Late Show, James Corden, the uproarious One Man, Two Guvnors was a runaway hit both in London’s West End and on Broadway.

Fired from his skiffle band, Francis Henshall becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe, a small time East End hood, now in Brighton to collect £6,000 from his fiancée’s dad. But Roscoe is really his sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother, who’s been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers.

Holed up at The Cricketers’ Arms, the permanently ravenous Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a second job with one Stanley Stubbers, who is hiding from the police and waiting to be re-united with Rachel. To prevent discovery, Francis must keep his two guvnors apart. Simple.

As You Like It

On the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's last day on this Earth, ECU SCREENS celebrates the Bard with a presentation of the Royal National Theatre of London's recorded-live broadcast of "As You Like It," at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 23rd in the Raymond J. Estep Multimedia Center at East Central University.

Jane Eyre

March 26 at 2 pm in the Estep:

Today: ECU's Foreign Film Festival Grand Finale!

Join us at 4 for "Wild Tales," a cinematic thrill ride set in Argentina. It's FREE!

At 2:30 the Nacho Biznez food truck will be parked on the west side of the University Center. Get your tacos on, then register for door prizes: including Argentine chocolate desserts, books and DVDs featuring Argentine culture (Julio Cortazar, Evita, Viggo Mortensen . . .), a gift basket from Truffles and Swirls, and many of Ada's favorite restaurants and cafes.

Stick around afterwards for the Grand Prix, which will include one free night at the Hampton Inn in Ada, a $25 gift certificate to the Misal of India Bistro in Norman, a $15 gift certificate to the Asahi sushi restaurant in Ada, a $15 gift certificate to the Nacho Biznez food truck, two passes to the Cinemark Ada, a $10 gift certificate to Amber's Sweet Shoppe, a free sandwich basket at Pigskins BBQ, a $5 gift certificate to Hot Shots, a $5 gift certificate to Mojo's, and a box of delicious Russian chocolates.

This Friday: Germany's Turn at ECU's Foreign Film Festival

ECU’s Foreign Film Festival continues its sixth season on Friday, February 12th with the “beautiful and mysteriously powerful” (Wall Street Journal) German-language film Phoenix, which will be screened at 4:00 p.m. in the Raymond J. Estep Multimedia Center of the Bill S. Cole University Center.

Named one of the top five foreign language films of 2015 by the National Board of Review, Phoenix is a spellbinding mystery of identity, illusion, and deception that unfolds against the turmoil of post-World War II Germany. Nelly (Nina Hoss), a German-Jewish nightclub singer, has survived a concentration camp, but with her face disfigured by a bullet wound. After undergoing reconstructive surgery, Nelly emerges with a new face that her former husband Johnny doesn’t recognize.

Rather than reveal herself, Nelly walks into a dangerous game of duplicity and disguise as she tries to figure out if the man she loves may have been the one who betrayed her to the Nazis. Evoking the shadows and haunted mood of post-war Berlin, Phoenix weaves a complex tale of a nation’s tragedy and a woman’s search for answers as it builds towards an unforgettable, heart-stopping climax.           

Before the show, come to the University Center at 3 p.m. for a "Three O'Clock Cabaret" experience featuring German sweets and song. The "Afternoon Cabaret" will feature musical performances by some of ECU's most talented faculty and students including Dr. Melody Baggech,  Bo Chesser, Courtney Phillips, Emelia Robinson, Ashley Tucker, and Leah Whiten, with Sunnie Smith and Elyse Marquardt accompanying them on the piano.  The sweets will include home-made German dark chocolate fudge brownies with black cherry preserves, German chocolate cake cookies, apple strudel, and Bienenstich (Bee Sting Cake), and Krapfen (German pastries), all prepared by ECU Honors students.

ECU's Foreign Film Festival features free foreign-language films on Fridays in February at four p.m. Each film in the festival is introduced by an ECU student or faculty member. After each screening lucky audience members are given books, DVDs, gift certificates and other door prizes that will either be associated with the featured culture or  will be donated by a local business. Door prizes after the Phoenix screening include a glass stein, Erik Larson's In the Garden of Beasts, Christopher Isherwood's Goodbye to Berlin, a DVD of the film Cabaret and a CD of the Broadway revival recording of Cabaret.

Local businesses supporting this year's Festival include the Hampton Inn (offering one free night), Cinemark Ada, Hot Shots, Asahi, Truffles and Swirls, Nacho Bizness, Pigskin's BBQ, Amber's Sweet Shoppe, and Mojo’s Coffee Bar. 

ECU's Foreign Film Festival is an expansion of the French Film Festival which has been held on the ECU campus since 2011. In recent years, hundreds from ECU and the surrounding communities have attended screenings of foreign-language films that are not screened in local cinemas.  The Festival is now hosted by ECU SCREENS, with support from ECU’s Cultural Activities Committee, the ECU Foundation, and the Student Government Association, in collaboration with Sigma Tau Delta (the International English Honors Society), the Honors Student Association. 

For more information about ECU’s Foreign Film Festival, contact Dr. Rebecca Nicholson-Weir, co-director of ECU SCREENS, at (580) 559-5929 or rnichlsn@ecok.edu.

Kurt Weill playlist

ECU's Foreign Film Festival Opens with "My Perestroika"

ECU’s Foreign Film Festival kicks off its sixth season on Friday, February 5th with "My Perestroika," a Russian-language documentary that follows five ordinary Russians living in extraordinary times – from their sheltered Soviet childhood, to the collapse of the Soviet Union during their teenage years, to the constantly shifting political landscape of post-Soviet Russia.

ECU's Foreign Film Festival features free foreign-language films on Fridays in February at four p.m. in the Raymond J. Estep multimedia center in the Bill S. Cole University Center at East Central University in Ada.

This year's first feature, "not only evocatively captures the Russian spirit and the yearnings of a generation, but . . .  also masterfully chronicles the historic collapse of the Soviet Union and its complex aftermath," according to David Lewis of The San Francisco Chronicle.

This screening of "My Perestroika" is made possible in part through a Startalk grant that ECU has been awarded the past three years to host a Russian language summer camp for high school students from Oklahoma and other states. "My Perestroika" is one of five planned post-program activities that allow students to maintain the connection with Russian language and culture after the residential portion of the program is over.

Each film in the festival will be given a brief introduction by an ECU student or faculty member. After each screening lucky audience members will be given books, DVDs, gift certificates and other door prizes that will either be associated with the featured culture or  will be donated by a local business.  Local businesses supporting this year's Festival include the Hampton Inn (offering one free night),  Cinemark Ada, Hotshots, Truffles and Swirls, Nacho Bizness, and Mojo’s Coffee Bar. 

ECU's Foreign Film Festival is an expansion of the French Film Festival which has been held on the ECU campus since 2011. In recent years, hundreds from ECU and the surrounding communities have attended screenings of foreign-language films that are not screened in local cinemas.  The Festival is now hosted by ECU SCREENS, with support from ECU’s Cultural Activities Committee, the ECU Foundation, and the Student Government Association,  in collaboration with Sigma Tau Delta (the International English Honors Society) and the Honors Student Association. 

For more information about ECU’s Foreign Film Festival, contact Dr. Rebecca Nicholson-Weir, co-director of ECU SCREENS, at (580) 559-5929 or rnichlsn@ecok.edu.

This Valentine's Day: The Beaux Stratagem

At 2 pm on Sunday, February 14th in the Raymond J. Estep Center at East Central University.
Tickets: $10 for General Admision; FREE for ECU Students (courtesy of ECU SCREENS).

Shakespeare's Colonel Jessup?

Tom Hiddleston as Coriolanus

I was thoroughly unfamiliar with Coriolanus before this seeing Friday's NT LIVE screening and totally impressed with it afterwards. I detected strands of Julius Caesar and Othello and Macbeth here that I'd enjoy exploring further, and after seeing the Donmar House Proudction of one of Shakespeare lesser known tragedies, I'm inclined to say that Coriolanus has been unfairly deprived of a spot on the short list of Shakespeare's Greatest Hits. That's an endorsement of the play, but it's also an endorsement of this production.

The character of Coriolanus reminds me of Colonel Jessup in A Few Good Men, which is one of my favorites ("You want me on that wall! You need me on that wall!). But while Nicholson's Jessup is little more than a bully (though an unforgettable one), what fascinated me most about Coriolanus was the way my feelings about this drama's military leader shuttled back and forth between admiration and disgust. If someone like Nicholson had been cast as Coriolanus, I suspect the monstrous brutishness of the warrior might stand out more, but casting Tom Hiddleston in the role makes it easier to see his more attractive qualities. Throughout the plan, I found myself wondering if Coriolanus which was dominant:  his appealing modesty or his appalling arrogance? Should I feel sympathy with his impatience with the sheepish masses or disgust for his disdain for democracy and the voice of the people? Was he a thin skinned hothead, quick to disparage the rabble, and incapable of finding value in any viewpoint but his own? Or was he an clear-eyed man of action, justifiably repulsed by the cowardice and self-serving deceit of almost everyone around him?

Deborah Findlay as Volumina

And every bit as fascinating as Coriolanus is his mother, Volumina (Deborah Findlay), who, at one point in the drama, challenges Coriolanus to explain why he saw deception on the battlefield as strategically useful, but considered deception on the Senator floor or the campaign trail to be utterly contemptuous. The text provides ample opportunities to contrast Volumina's scruple-free love of victory-at-all-costs against the more sympathetic concerns of Coriolanus's wife, Virgilia (Birgitte Hjort Sorensen), who is consumed with fear that Coriolanus's next wound will be his last. But the production often affirms the bond between the two most important women in Coriolanus's life and avoids opportunities to depict Virgilia as jealous of the control her mother-in-law exerts over her husband. Consequently, they do not slide as easily into the roles of virtuous innocent and wicked old witch as I imagine they might in other productions.

During the intermission, ECU student Jacob Hix told me he had read that the play was suppressed in France in the 1930s because of how easily it could be read as an endorsement of fascism (intermissions have become one of my favorite aspects of our NT Live screenings because they allow this kind of "half-time" note sharing). When Coriolanus's fate reveals itself in the drama's shocking final scene, I could see how the ambiguities of the earlier scenes could be subsumed by perceptions of the narrative's overall arc (I'm trying not to give away the ending for someone who might see it later). Ultimately, the whirling ball of the narrative seems to drop into the ideological roulette wheel and one reading of the play's political sympathies seems to come out the winner (don't give in to sentimentality!).

However, a day later, I find myself re-reading the play's last image and, particularly, Volumina's part in it. While on first viewing, I read the scene as a fascist condemnation of Coriolanus's compassion, I now suspect that it could also be read as a Machiavellian affirmation of Volumina's cunning. We know how Coriolanus's decisions turned out; but what about Volumina? Did she "win" Coriolanus?

I'm no fan of Hiddleston's turn as Loki in Thor and subsequent Avengers fare, but I was impressed by the artful way he managed this performance and can see why some might see him challenging Benedict Cumberbatch as the preeminent British star of the stage. Mark Gaines was delightful as Menenius--I especially appreciated his illustration of the undervalued importance of the stomach, which he likened to the Roman Senate. I found myself wishing for a more imposing Aufidius (Hadley Fraser) to play the role of Coriolanus's principal rival, though. At times, Hiddleston's mike seemed to be slightly muffled, but the production values were generally outstanding.

I've seen all 14 NT Live productions presented by ECU SCREENS. This was one of the best (it's got lots of competition in that top tier, though).