Juliet: A Dialogue about Love" is
scheduled to be presented on
Friday and Saturday, February 6 and 7, 7:00 pm at
NPC.
We encourage you to come and bring members of your small group. Drip
coffee will be served after the play, no other refreshments will be
served.
There will be a 'talk back' with
the actress after the show. She'll change out of her costume and come back to
the Worship Center. She welcomes the opportunity to do this. This is a dramatic presentation of a
woman, her children, and the time when they were in a Communist prison. It is
also shows the love she has for her husband, her children and for God. She asks
questions of God such as: Where are you? Why is this happening?
There may be a need for some people
who attend to "decompress" following the show. Those who experience
the play may need some time to regroup, talk it out, and resolve our
own feelings. We want to encourage you to take your group off site to a
coffee shop or someone's home. There will not be a place at NPC to linger as custodians will be getting the church ready for the next day.
If you are compelled to discuss, please be considerate of the tear-down
and custodial teams, especially on Saturday evening. Thank you.
What to Expect:
- an informational display will be in our lobby which will help explain the political conditions in the Romania/Hungary area during the time of the play (circa 1956 - see timeline below).
- a documentary video about the author will be running in our lobby (possibly at two locations)
- attendees will be held in our lobby to review the material until showtime. This will provide for a greater understanding of the play's setting.
- A short introduction/announcement will be made in the lobby prior to letting anyone into the Worship Center
- There will be a "talk back" session following the play with the actress (approximately 20 minutes) concerning the play, the author, the actress, etc.
Historical Context:
Juliet's husband was a Hungarian Reformed pastor, who felt called to minister deeper inside the Communist block after Hungarian revolution of 1956. He moved his wife Juliet and their seven children further east into Romania, a direction no one was traveling at the time. Sure enough, he was almost immediately arrested and sentenced to 22 years in prison. His wife and their seven children were evicted and sent to a prison camp in the Danube delta. This play is her story, beginning when she wakes up to find herself prematurely placed in a morgue, which is essentially a pile of bodies.
- 1958 - Reverend Ferenc Visky, Andras' father, is sentenced to 22 years in prison.
- 1959 - His mother, Julia, and her seven children are deported to a gulag near the Danube delta, in a place known as Latesti.
- 1964 - Julia and the children are released early in the year; Ferenc was released in the summer.
