Upcoming production of Memphis

[Nadine Sivak]

PLEASE FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO OTHERS.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 4-August 13, 2000

Media Contact: Dianne Weinrib / Michelle Latimer @ DW Communications
Phone: 416-703-5479 Fax: 703-5489

WUM presents the premiere of

MEMPHIS: The Death of Martin Luther King by John P. Moore

July 4, 2000 - (THEATRE) WUM, in association with the Up From The Roots
Collective, is proud to present the premiere of MEMPHIS, a play about the
last days of Martin Luther King, Jr. Written by Toronto playwright
John P. Moore and directed by WUM Artistic Producer Colin Taylor, MEMPHIS
previews on Tuesday August 1st, opens Wednesday August 2nd and runs until
Sunday August 13th at the Robert Gill Theatre (214 College Street
@ St. George, Toronto). Box Office (416) 978-7986.

MEMPHIS tells the story of the last days of the great African-American civil
rights leader who was assassinated in that southern city on April 4, 1968.
The play also hearkens back to earlier periods in King's life and career
by tracing his relationships with three people - his wife Coretta Scott King,
his close associate Ralph Abernathy, and woman friend Georgia Davis Powers.
The words of Martin Luther King are central to the play, which seeks to
explore not only the power of King's language but also its connection to
his life and death.

MEMPHIS is produced in association with Up From The Roots, a flourishing
young entertainment collective, based in Scarborough, whose aim is to
promote the positive artistic contributions of urban-influenced artists.
Founded by Dwayne Morgan in 1994, Up From The Roots has produced over thirty
events in its short history (including the AfriCanadian Arts and Music
Festival at Ontario Place, the Talking Aloud spoken word showcase at
Harbourfront for the Kuumba Festival, and SoulJazzFusion for the Du Maurier
Downtown Jazz Festival) and is today recognized as a major force on the
urban entertainment scene.

MEMPHIS is written by John P. Moore, a Toronto-based playwright best known
for THE LINDROS TRIAL, staged in 1996 (a drama about a dance-floor beer
fight involving hockey superstar Eric Lindros) and a few notably successful
collaborations with director Colin Taylor, including the intense one-act
"relationship" plays MAN and WONDERFUL DANCER.

MEMPHIS stars a dynamic young company of performers, including Dwayne Morgan,
Kevin White, Tamla Matthews (members of Up From The Roots), Courtney
Cunningham and Miranda Edwards and is designed (set/sound) and directed by
Colin Taylor (Artistic Producer of WUM, former Associate Artist of Theatre
Passe Muraille, former Producer/Director for CBC Radio and the inaugural
recipient of the John Hirsch Prize for Directing) whose most recent project
was the Market Hall Young Company in Peterborough. Lighting Design is by
Christopher Dennis (National Ballet of Canada), with Stage Management by
Lucy Giannini.

Plus: The King of Love - As an added feature to the main event and to
celebrate its tenth anniversary, WUM has commissioned a variety of brief
dramatic reveries from a notable group of writers (including Djanet Sears,
Anton Piatigorsky, Daniel David Moses, Ahdri Zhina Mandiela, Darren
O'Donnell, Dwayne Morgan, Sang Kim, Biyi Bandele Thomas and others), with
original songs by Peterborough-based Caroline O'Reilly, to be presented
immediately following MEMPHIS - in celebration of the life and meaning of
Martin Luther King.

WUM was founded in 1990, and has as its mandate the exploration of African
continuities. Previous productions include The Meeting (a fictitious
encounter between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King), a theatrical adaptation
of Camara Laye's The Radiance of the King, a Deep South transposition of
William Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, Susan Lori Parks' Imperceptible
Mutabilities in the Third Kingdom and The America Play, In the Dark by
Colin Taylor, Anna Deavere Smith's Fires in the Mirror, and a co-production
of The Urban Donnellys with Theatre Passe Muraille.

MEMPHIS: The Death of Martin Luther King previews on Tuesday August 1, 2000,
opens Wednesday August 2 and runs until Sunday, August 13, 2000. MEMPHIS
performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 8pm, with Saturday matinees
at 2:30 pm and Sunday pwyc at 2:30 pm.
Ticket prices: Preview: $15, Tuesday-Thursday $20, Friday and Saturday
evenings $25, Saturday matinee $20, Sunday matinee pwyc. Students and
Seniors: $15. For tickets, call the Robert Gill Theatre at (416) 978-7986.


-30-

-----------------------------------------------------