The Department of Theatre and Dance in the College of Charleston School of the Arts will present “The Love of the Nightingale” by playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker. A retelling of the myth of Ovid’s “Procne, Philomele and Tereus,” Wertenbaker uses this ancient tale of transformation to demonstrate the violence that stems from enforced silence. While the play portrays an ancient myth, it is by no means a story without meaning for today’s audience. The barbarism of people’s  inhumanity, as we see daily in the world today, is the substance of ancient tragedies.

Three people: two sisters who are princesses, and the king who marries one and falls in love with the other. For one, sex is love; for another it is pleasure; for the third, power. These people live in a world of forbidden love and terrible vengeance, a world in which people can also become birds. “The Love of the Nightingale” is a story of sexual awakening and sexual violence; a story of what it means to these three people to be a man or a woman.

The production, directed by Evan Parry, will run Thursday, November 8 through Sunday, November 11, 2012 with a second run from Thursday, November 15 to Sunday, November 18. Curtain times will be 7:30 p.m., except the Sunday shows at 3 p.m. only. Performances will take place at the Emmett Robinson Theatre in the Simons Center for the Arts, 54 Saint Philip St. Tickets may be purchased at the box office or by telephone (843) 953-5604. Admission is $15 for general admission and $10 for College of Charleston students, faculty and staff and senior citizens 60 and older. Season subscriptions are available. The “talkback” discussions with the cast and crew will take place opening night following the performance.