Pepperdine’s theatre department won a “Fringe First” award at the 2012 Edinburgh Festival Fringe for their unique play Why Do You Stand There in the Rain?
Rain was one of two new plays performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe by the Pepperdine Scotland program, and premiered at the festival August 1.
Written by Scottish playwright Peter Arnott and developed with Cathy Thomas Grant and the students themselves over the course of this year, Rain chronicles the 1932 occupation of Washington by 20,000 First World War veterans, known as the “Bonus Army.” The play uses text recovered from documents and songs by artists from the era.
Broadway World calls the play “truly moving” and “a riveting tale of hidden history and human strength;” and the British Theatre Guide pronounces Pepperdine’s performance as “a truly fine production and a fascinating piece of new theatre, well worth it’s place in the best shows of this year’s Fringe Festival.”
Meanwhile, Pepperdine’s performance of Anonymous, directed by alumnus Joe Obermueller, is actually the play’s U.K. premiere. Written by Naomi Iizuka, Anonymous is a modern retelling of Homer’s The Odyssey, reimagined through the eyes of a teenage refugee. The play highlights the struggle that thousands of fleeing immigrants confront when seeking asylum: abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
A Younger Theatre hails Pepperdine’s performance of Anonymous as “unanimously superb: compelling, poignant, and very mature;” Three Weeks calls it “lively and imaginative;” and The New Current names it “remarkable to watch.”
Pepperdine University has been performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe since 1985, and recent productions have included works by David Mamet; Frank Galati’s adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath; and Eve Ensler’s Necessary Targets, which won the Critics’ Choice in the Metro.
To follow the group’s progress in Edinburgh and read reviews in full, visit the Pepperdine Scotland website.
