Reading Of Early Clive Barker Work, Sunday

NEW MILFORD — TheatreWorks Page-To-Stage Playreadings Series will continue this weekend with a reading of Clive Barker’s intriguing The History Of The Devil, or Scenes from a Pretend Life. The reading will be offered on Sunday, March 6, beginning at 7 pm, at the TheatreWorks theater, 5 Brookside Avenue.

Prior to British-born Clive Barker’s success in the United States as a writer and film director (Hellraiser), he was a playwright, short-story writer (The Books of Blood) and novelist. Written in the early ‘80s, The History Of The Devil shows a young author at his gritty best with a piece that is borderline lewd and darkly funny, and yet possessed of subtler, deeper meaning in regards to the nature of evil.

The story is set as a simple courtroom drama. After several thousand years on the outs with the kingdom of heaven, Satan feels he has done his time. He wants to get back into the City of God. To do so, he agrees to go on trial in an earthly courtroom. By mutual consent, the verdict will be binding.

As the trial moves through space and time the story visits scenes of humanities failures. If Satan wins his day in court, he will be reunited with his Father in Heaven. If he loses, he will spend eternity on Earth.

The TheatreWorks’ reading will features some of the area’s finest actors, including Jackie Decho,  Jane Farnol, George Meadows, Sonnie Osborne, Richard Pettibone, Jonathan Ross, Chris Simo-Kinzer, Lisa Simo-Kinzer and J. Scott Williams.

Admission to playreadings at TheatreWorks New Milford is free. The theater can be reached for additional information by calling 860-350-6863 or visiting www.danbury.org/theatreworks on the Web.