Cymbeline Soars

Kelly Garrett as an Apparition

By K. Lindsay Eaves

Photos by Rob Merritt

Iowa City -- Just across the street from the sporting arena of Kinnick Stadium, audiences are invited to journey away with Fourth Room Theatre to a simpler, more intimate time. Hidden amongst the trees in a sequestered portion of Melrose Avenue, Cymbeline unfolds in a secluded outdoor kingdom where modern mysticism reigns.

Conversation With: Fourth Room Theatre

Iowa City - Fourth Room Theatre is opening the rarely-produced Shakespeare play Cymbeline this weekend, and they're bringing it to Corridor theatre-goers for free! (See more on the production in this post.) Fourth Room is a relatively new addition to Corridor theatre; in the past couple of years, they have produced Closer and Parallel Lives, both of which met with success. Recently, Iowa Theatre Blog took a moment to find out more about their current ambitious project and the company behind it. We spoke with Fourth Room core members Matthew James and K. Michael Moore, who can be seen as Iachimo and Posthumus, respectively, in Cymbeline.

Cymbeline Opens May 24

Iowa City — "Fourth Room Theatre presents William Shakespeare’s supernatural fairy tale, Cymbeline, at a beautiful outdoor estate (901 Melrose Ave.) on May 24, 25, 26, 30, 31 and June 1 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are FREE.

The event takes place on a spacious tree-enclosed lawn near Kinnick Stadium and audiences are encouraged to bring blankets, chairs and picnics/small coolers to enjoy the experience. To help us handle parking and to adequately prepare and keep you informed of changes/rain cancellations, please make a reservation by calling 319-541-0038 or by email at info@fourthroomtheatre.com stating your preferred date, number in your group and number of vehicles in your party.

Indiegogo Campaign for Free Shakespeare Production

Iowa City - Fourth Room Theatre has announced a campaign to raise money to allow audiences to see Shakespeare's Cymbeline for free. From Fourth Room Member K. Michael Moore:

"Hello friends!

Fourth Room Theatre has embarked on a new and exciting challenge. We're doing Shakespeare's Cymbeline in the last two weeks of May! A lot of people don't know this play: it's a fun fairy tale that pulls from the Bard's other masterpieces and weaves them together in a brand new, magical way. Gods, fighting, love, evil potions, identity switches, a complex plot filled with some of Shakespeare's most beautiful (and least known) language.

Even more exciting than that, we have decided to try something new to the Eastern Iowa Area - we're going to try to put this production together totally free to the audience!