Theatre News Wire

Court Theatre and The Classical Entertainment Society present The Homerathon, a 24-hour marathon reading of Homer's Iliad. On the set of Court Theatre's Chicago Premiere production of Denis O'Hare and Lisa Peterson's An Iliad, and directed by Court Artistic Director Charles Newell, The Homerathon will showcase live readings of all 24 books in Homer's Iliad read straight through in 24 hours. Throughout the marathon, food, non-alcoholic beverages, and activities will be provided in the Court Theatre lobby. The Homerathon begins on Sunday, November 20 at 10 PM and ends on Monday, November 21, 2011 at 10 PM.

"We're going to read every word of Homer's Iliad until it's finished-that's 15,693 lines of verse, or about twenty-four hours of active reading," says Court Theatre's Resident Dramaturg, Drew Dir. "Of course, we've invited readers to read in any language or translation they choose- one of the faculty members, for example, is reading from his favorite translation, a translation by eighteenth-century English poet Alexander Pope. We've also invited participants to read it in the original ancient Greek, which many here at the University of Chicago are more than prepared to do."

University of Chicago faculty and students will be providing readings, and the general public is invited not only to attend, but to read as well. Parties interested in reading are encouraged to RSVP to Ryan Mease at rmease@gmail.com to guarantee their spot.