Gulliver’s Travels at YTN

Youth Theatre Northwest closes its 2010-2011 season with a classic and beloved story. Gulliver’s Travels performs May 20 – June 12, 2011, written by Seattle playwright Don Fleming and directed by Gillian Jorgensen.

Description:

 Follow Lemuel Gulliver on an incredible journey through strange and distant lands. Meet an assortment of odd characters like tiny Lilliputians and giants from the land of Brobdingnag. Visit the mystical and floating island Laputa and a land inhabited by speaking horses. What does it all mean and how will Gulliver’s travels change him? Hilarious and fantastical, Gulliver’s Travels is the enchanting journey your imagination has been craving.

Age Appropriate: 

Gulliver’s Travels is appropriate for ages 3 and older.

Tickets:

Tickets for Gulliver’s Travels are $17 for adults and $15 for youth/seniors for the May 20th Opening Night Gala, which includes an intermission dessert.  All other performances are $15 for adults and $13 for youth/seniors.  For tickets or information on group rates, call (206) 232-4145, ext. 109, or visit YTN online at www.youththeatre.org. 

Production: Gulliver’sTravels features 26 actors, ages 7 – 16, from Mercer Island, Bellevue, Issaquah, Renton, Newcastle and Seattle.

About the Story:

Written in 1726, Gulliver's Travels was originally entitled Travels Into Remote Nations of the World. For its first printing, the author was identified as Lemuel Gulliver himself and not the true author Jonathan Swift, an Irish writer and clergyman. Swift denied himself authorship not only to make the fictional Gulliver appear to be a real person but also to protect himself from the wrath of those that may have been insulted by his storytelling.

Gulliver’s Travels is Swift's best known full-length work and a classic of English literature. Though children view Gulliver’s Travels as an adventure story, educated readers of the time saw the story for what it was; a punchy satire on human nature and a parody of the "travellers' tales" literary sub-genre. Swift was so concerned that he would face retaliation for his storytelling that many believe he had his original manuscript recopied so that his handwriting wouldn’t identify him. Swift’s controversial themes in the book include a satirical view of the state of European government and the petty differences between religions; an inquiry into whether men are inherently corrupt or whether they become corrupted and a restatement of the older "ancients versus moderns" controversy previously addressed by Swift in his prior writings.

The story of Gulliver and his amazing journey has been so beloved by readers that the book continues to be published in many languages around the world. Countless stories have been inspired by the original book and the story has been adapted for both animation, television and film.

About the Playwright:

Playwright Don Fleming is a well-respected Seattle theatre artist. A regular performer and playwright, Fleming’s work has been seen on various stages across the region. Fleming has written many plays, including High School Hamlet; A Midsummer Night's Macbeth, Fight Academy, and adaptations ofThe Golden Compass, The Horse and His Boy, Speak and Stargirl. The Theatrefor Young Audiences website has named Fleming as a featured playwright and he is currently on the Education Staff for Seattle Children’s Theatre, serving as the Producer for their Drama School Summer Season.