The University of Louisiana at Lafayette Department of Performing Arts in association with the Department of English will present The Witlings, a comedy by 18th-century writer Frances Burney.
The Witlings, which Burney completed in 1779, is a delightfully satiric comedy about the foibles of those who are more interested in money, pretension and flattery than in literature, culture, or true love. At the same time, this comedy raises serious questions about gender and social class inequalities.
The play will run at 8 pm April 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 2005 in Burke Theater on the UL Lafayette campus. There will be a matinee April 15 at 10 a.m and April 16 at 3 pm.
The April 15 performance will be free for area high school and college students.
Teachers interested in bringing groups of students to that performance can contact Shelley Martin, at sam0658@louisiana.edu.
A series of talks on The Witlings will be held at 6:45 p.m. before the performances on April 9 (by Dr. John Greene, UL English Dept.), April 15 (by Dr. Clayton Delery, Louisiana School professor and the editor of the first published edition of the play), and April 16 (by Dr. Delery and Dr. Catherine Burroughs, Wells College, NY).
In addition, Dr. Burroughs will present a free public lecture to contextualize the play at 7:30 p.m. April 14th at the Lafayette Hilton.
Tickets for the play are $12 for the general public and $8 for students and seniors. They are available at the Student Union Box Office.
Presentation of The Witlings is in conjunction with the 18th and 19th Century British Women Writers Conference. UL Lafayette Department of English will host this international conference April 14 to April 17 at the Hilton Lafayette.
Keynote speakers for the event include Dr. Catherine Burroughs, Dr. Susan Staves, Professor Emerita at Brandeis University, and Dr. Linda K. Hughes, Professor of Literature at TCU.
Information about the conference can be found on our website, at www.louisiana.edu/bwwc.
The Witlings is supported by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council as administered by the Acadiana Arts Council and by a generous donation from the Friend of the Humanities
The pre-show lectures and program for the play are funded through the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The conference keynote speeches are sponsored by the UL Lafayette Student Government Association Lyceum Committee.