As the African continent in pulled into World War I, the result of warring colonial powers, lives of innocents are changed forever. This is the backdrop of the 1951 adventure film, The African Queen. Brother and sister British Methodist missionaries, Samuel and Rose Sayer (played by Katherine Hepburn), live in the village of Kungdu, a German East African colony in 1914. After the untimely death of her brother at the hands of German soldiers, Rose takes up with riverboat captain Charlie Allnut (played by Humphrey Bogart) aboard the African Queen, vowing to destroy a German gunboat downriver. The arduous trek takes them on a true silver screen adventure filled with rapids, African wildlife, leeches, and more as they narrowly make it to the lake where the German gunboat lies in wait. Along the way, near constant bickering is forged into love as Charlie and Rose throw themselves at their desperate cause.
The Arts Garage’s Radio Theatre will bring this rip-roaring adventure/love story to life in true Guy Noir fashion on August 19-20. Performed as if for old-time radio, Radio Theatre has adapted classic movie scripts for actors to perform, while technicians add sound effects using rather interesting devices—think clopping coconut shells from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It all adds up to a rather unique and interesting form of live performance that is not only entertaining, but a little nostalgic too.
Find out if Charlie and Rose sink the Konigon Luise, or if the treacherous terrain, and the even more treacherous German soldiers foil the young lovers’ plan for revenge when The African Queen takes the Arts Garage stage.
- Showtimes: August 19 and 20 at 7:30 p.m. Admission costs $20 for general seating, $30 for premium. For more information, visit artsgarage.org.
Each Radio Theatre play is recorded for audiences to enjoy long after the curtain has fallen. Visit artsradionetwork.com for more information.
Facebook Comments