Ball State students are performing one of Shakespeare’s lesser known plays, Pericles: Prince of Tyre, in Strother Studio Theatre. Under the direction of Ball State theatre professor Karen Kessler, dozens of students have worked to put on an impressive production. The show stars Jacob Barnes, an acting major in his senior year, playing the eponymous ancient prince.
Pericles starts with a puzzle posed to the prince of Tyre by a foreign king; if Pericles can solve the puzzle, he will be deemed worthy of the princess’ hand in marriage.
I am no viper, yet I feed
On mother’s flesh which did me breed.
I sought a husband, in which labour
I found that kindness in a father:
He’s father, son, and husband mild;
I mother, wife, and yet his child.
How they may be, and yet in two,
As you will live, resolve it you.
Once Pericles divines the incestuous implications of the poem, he flees knowing that his life is forfeit both if he gives the wrong answer and if he reveals the king’s secret. From here, the young prince must overcome assassin’s plots, shipwrecks, jousting tournaments, and more.
The show will be playing from Tuesday to Saturday each night at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be bought in person, on the phone (765-285-8749) or online.
Video: Michael Robb and Phil Akin
Photography: Jeremy Rogers
For more entertainment related content visit us at Byte BSU!
