"Time's the king of men;
He's both their parent, and he is their grave,
and gives them what he will, not what they crave.
...The end must be as 'tis"
Carmen Khan Director
Damon Bonetti Pericles
Christie Parker Thaisa
A Message from the Director
In Pericles, Shakespeare is intrigued by the existential questions that haunt us all. What is the meaning of life? If life is suffering, is there a meaning to suffering? Sometimes the events in our lives seem incomprehensible to us, and we wonder if they serve a greater purpose.
Although, like many of us, Pericles has done nothing that deserves suffering, he suffers terribly. He is disillusioned as a young man only to experience agonizing loss as an adult—enduring betrayal, and a tsunami-like wave of spirit-numbing catastrophes. Astonishingly, along the way he is able to share the simple things in life—the subtle connections that are forged through laughter, an act of kindness, the deliciousness of a warm embrace, the fleeting moments of celebration and ritual: eating, drinking, dancing—while allowing him to also acknowledge that life can be miraculous too. Along with the terrible disasters that Pericles and those he loves encounter, they manage to escape, survive through incredible circumstances, enjoy fateful meetings, joyful reunions, and finally, a renewal that has been described as “a Job like restoration.” (Suzanne Gossett, Arden Shakespeare Edition).
Which leads us back to the initial question: Is there a meaning to life’s suffering? Even though events may not make sense to us at times, it is in the living of our lives, the process of it—those little moments, where meaning is found. “Time is,” muses Pericles, “the king of men, he’s both their parent and their grave, and gives them what he will, not what they crave… The end must be as ’tis.” The gift of life will not be ours for long. It is in the living of this life that Pericles, and we, are created and recreated.
Carmen Khan
Artistic/Executive Director