Pontine Theatre to Welcome William George in Solo Adaptation of WALDEN, 3/8-10

Pontine Theatre presents William George in his solo adaptation of Henry David Thoreau's Walden. Mr. George is a founder of Bethlehem PA's Touchstone Theatre. Published in 1854, Thoreau's literary classic is an elegantly written record of his experiment in simple living that has engaged readers and thinkers for more than a century.

Performances are Friday 8 March at 8pm, Saturday 9 March at 4pm and at 8pm, and Sunday 10 March at 2pm. Tickets are $24 and may be purchased online at www.pontine.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the door a half-hour prior to each performance (cash & checks only) based on availability. Pontine's West End Studio Theatre is located at 959 Islington Street, Portsmouth, NH. The theatre is not visible from the street, look for the big 959 on the signpost at the head of the drive. For information and questions, contact Pontine -- info@pontine.org / 603-436-6660.

Walden, a lyrical contemplative performance, mediates on the simplicity and pleasure of a life without the confines of social constructs and unnecessary financial restraints. It tells the story of a young Thoreau who, troubled by his times and dissatisfied with many of society's assumptions about living, retreats to the woods, to live in a house of his own construction and earn his living "by the sweat of his brow." In his retreat to Walden Pond, he discovers the sublime beauty of nature and the inherent transcendent power of the individual and creation.

The narrator Thoreau is portrayed by Touchstone Theatre co-founder, William George. He is one of Pennsylvania's finest theatre artists, recipient of the Fringe First Award for outstanding new work at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Pennsylvania Solo Theatre Artist Fellowship.

According to George, "The key thing in Walden is the language, the sincerity of it, the uplifting transcendent and youthful honesty--such a great luxury to bask in it, soak in the truth of it."

The production features the classic story and text of Thoreau's Walden, and the simple but evocative gestural skills of Mr. George, as the audience is taken out "on the pont" or the wood lot behind his "house" to observe the "war of ants." Through gesture, sound, music and text, we travel with Thoreau on his journey of discovery--of himself, and the spirit of a young America.

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life." Henry David Thoreau