Three Poets

Romulus Linney (seated center) with the cast of Three Poets (left to right): Adrienne Thompson, Mary Foskett, Kathleen Chalfant, Scott Sowers, John MacKay; Theater for the New City, 1989

Three Poets is composed of three short plays, each about a poet to whom Linney felt a connection.  The first play, Komanchi, reflects Linney’s love for Japanese theatre, especially the Noh theatre and the use of masks.  Hrosvitha centers on a nun in Germany who has written a challenging play that is not well received by the Church.  The last play, Akhmatova, a revision of Linney’s 1984 play The Soul of a Tree, is about discovering the meaning behind Anna Akhmatova’s poem.