The Arkansas Classical Theatre Presents The Player King

A new theatre company dedicated to performing plays by William Shakespeare and other classical works will emerge in Northwest Arkansas in the summer of 2025, but its founders and directors will offer a preview of coming attractions with a free performance of The Player King, a one-person performance piece, on Friday, August 2, at 7 p.m. in the University of Arkansas’ Global Campus Theatre on the Fayetteville Square.

Written by Darin Dahms, The Player King is a one-actor play inspired by the lives of Edwin Booth, Junius Brutus Booth, and John Wilkes Booth.

“The action takes place sometime during the year following the assassination of President Lincoln,” Marzolf noted. “Edwin Booth, perhaps the greatest Shakespearean actor in American history, has been forced to quit the stage because of his brother’s heinous actions, and he is questioning whether he can return to the theatre after the tragedy that has befallen his family.”

Marzolf added that The Player King is “part soliloquy, part memory play” and is essentially “Edwin’s personal investigation into his relationship to his art and a search for an answer to the question, ‘what does it mean to be an actor?'"

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