Two new shows coming to the ADC Theatre include the premiere of Jeff Carpenter’s reinterpretation of Henry Purcell’s first (and only) all-sung opera Dido & Aeneas and Posh by Laura Wade.

Dido & Aeneas is one of the earliest English operas. The story is based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid, and recounts the love story of Dido, Queen of Carthage and the Trojan hero Aeneas, and her despair at his abandonment of her.

In Carpenter’s reinterpretation of Dido & Aeneas the storyline, melodies and lyrics are all taken from the classic opera by Henry Purcell. However, what makes this show different is Carpenter’s entirely original re-scoring of the work. The reinterpretation takes its musical inspiration from Schwartz (Wicked!) and Sondheim (Sweeney Todd), and uses a large modern band with a drum-kit and bass guitar. The show runs from 16 – 19 February, 2011

The ADC’s next show is Posh, which is in its second ever production – after premiering at the Royal Court, London. Posh is a witty, cutting dissection of power and privileges in a dining society at Oxford University. The play raises disturbing questions about the social elite who run Britain through birthright.

Director Joshua Stamp-Simon said: “Posh is of huge social relevance for all of us, and performing it in Cambridge, just a minute’s walk form the Pitt Club, has a certain irony that makes this something very special”

Posh opens at the ADC Theatre on Tuesday, 22 February, and runs until Saturday, 26 February, 2011.

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