ANDREW Holmes, director and PhD student in the ANU School of Cultural Inquiry, is about to stage Archibald MacLeish’s radio verse drama “The Fall of the City,” playing for five performances only at the ANU Arts Centre Drama Lab.

It’s the second (the first was the Wall Street play “Panic”) in a group of works written by American verse playwright MacLeish that Holmes intends to investigate through staging and audience feedback.

“The Fall of the City” – originally performed by Orson Welles, was the first American verse play written for broadcast radio.

In the central plaza of a great city, a dead woman appears and delivers a prophecy that “the city of masterless men will take a
master”.

A messenger appears to tell the alarm-ridden crowd that a conqueror is coming. As hysteria increases, orators, generals, and priests harangue the crowd.

Written against the rise of fascism in Europe in the 1930s, the play explores the acceptance of tyranny and the ways in which humans give up their freedom.

Canberra actor Duncan Ley plays the controlling role of the Announcer. This will be a live performance for voices wedded to minimalist physical action and Holmes hopes to “create a poetic live performance within an immersive theatrical atmosphere.”

“The Fall of the City” by Archibald MacLeish, directed by Andrew Holmes, is at ANU Arts Centre Drama Lab on Oct 26-28 at  8pm and  Oct 29 at 2pm & 8pm. Cost is free, but bookings essential to andrew.holmes@anu.edu.au