An Experiment with an Air Pump

Overview
Cast & Creators
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Venue Info

August 8 – August 25, 2019 | Theodore and Adele Shank Theatre

By Shelagh Stephenson | Directed by Richard Baird

Backyard Renaissance Theatre Company, as a part of the La Jolla Playhouse Resident Theatre Program, presents the San Diego premiere of An Experiment with an Air Pump.

Starring: Susan Angelo, Olivia Cordell, Francis Gercke, Jessica John, Caroline Keeler, Justin Lang and Robert Smyth

An Experiment with an Air Pump was written by Stephenson as a layman’s love poem to Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. The work spans two centuries — each on the verge of revolutionary scientific discovery. The show dives headlong into the eternal battle between science and God, self-determination and destiny, and the hand each plays in the delicate intricacies of love. First performed at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester in 1998, Experiment sifts and probes the moral challenges of the present day as if written yesterday.

Cast & Creators

Backyard Renaissance Theatre Company Resident Theatre

Backyard Renaissance presents theatre with an “art to the gut” sensibility and believes that exceptional storytelling is rooted in a sense of joyful play, human connection, and gutsy intensity. The company was founded in 2015 by artistic director Francis Gercke and executive director Jessica John Gercke. With the addition of producing director Anthony Methvin, the company has produced six productions including the San Diego Premiere of Parlour Song by Jezz Butterworth, The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance, Gutenberg: The Musical by Scott Brown and Anthony King, Abundance by Beth Henley, Bachelorette by Leslye Headland, and the world premiere of Adam Wachter’s Tarrytown (2017 SD Critics Circle Award for Best Original Musical).

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Venue Info

Theodore and Adele Shank Theatre

The Shank Theatre is a 98-seat theatre adjacent to the Mandell Weiss Forum theatre.