Blood, guts, zombies and Shakespeare – what more could you ask for from the theater?
This December, Cochrane High School performing arts students will be performing William Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead, a play by John Heimbuch.
The play is set in 1599 in the tiring house of the newly built Globe Theatre as the plague spreads through London. It involves hordes of zombies and questions over the real authorship of the Shakespeare’s work.
“We’ve gone really far this year and we have done a lot of really good work, so I want the community to come out and see that work,” said Ben Janko, the drama and performing arts teacher at Cochrane High. “It is going to be funny and terrifying. We’ve put in something like 200 rehearsal hours and I have been absolutely amazed by the continued level of commitment.”
Janko said 60 students are taking part in the production and they have had the chance to really push themselves with the material – learning different types of British dialect, swordplay and extended physical movement. That is the reason Janko said he chose this play, because it has all of the bells and whistles.
Janko pointed out that they have had a lot of guest artists come out and work with the cast and support them through the learning process.
Although Janko said he hoped that a lot of family members and friends of the students would come out to the production, he also hoped the performance would be a draw to Cochrane as a whole.
“I hope that it can be a part of being in Cochrane and that it can build community a little bit,” said Janko. “I’m really proud of the work that we’ve done. It would be really great to see the community come out and see the play.”
The play will run Dec. 3-6 at Cochrane High School. Tickets are $15, or $5 if you are a Cochrane High School student. Tickets are available at the door, at the main office and by calling 403-932-2542.
