AN EVENING WITH C.S. LEWIS BRINGS AUTHOR TO LIFE FEBRUARY 19 AT THE KRAVIS CENTER
Celebrated Actor David Payne Presents an Intimate Evening of Heart and Humor in One-Man Show
(January 28, 2013) WEST PALM BEACH-Fans of theater and
literature alike have the chance to discover the life and personality of author C.S. Lewis February 19 at the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. An Evening with C.S. Lewis, the one-man show by critically acclaimed British actor David Payne, reveals the man behind such classics as The Screwtape Letters and The Chronicles of Narnia.
The year is 1963 and C. S. Lewis, the famous British author, is in the twilight years of his life. Following a request from his great friend, J. R. R. Tolkien, he has agreed to give an informal talk to a group of American writers who are visiting England. What follows is a riveting performance showing the oratorical and narrative genius that made Lewis a legend in his own lifetime, and revealing the inspiring history of the author’s family and spiritual life.
Payne, whose audition for the stage production of Shadowlands led to a career in theater, bases much of his work on the life and works of the author he so perfectly portrays. During rehearsals for Shadowlands he was given a copy of A Grief Observed, Lewis’ diary of grief following the death of his American wife, Joy. Captivated by the brutal honesty of a man bearing his soul, Payne memorized the whole book and then adapted it into a one-man show, Mist in the Mourning. He toured this production extensively throughout the US, where he was often peppered with questions about C.S. Lewis. It was then that Payne wrote An Evening with C.S. Lewis, basing the show around the audience’s questions, and the pivotal occurrences in Lewis’ life.
An Evening with C.S. Lewis takes place at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts Tuesday, February 19 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets start at $25 and may be purchased at the Kravis Center Box Office at 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach, by calling 561-832-7469 or through the Official Kravis Center Website at www.kravis.org. For more information and video, visit www.davidpaynedrama.com.