A radical shift in tone and style from the first two stories in the Triptych cycle, a breezy, widescreen tonic to the harsh themes and events of the previous entries, Prime Purity is an epic, boisterous coming-of-age journey. Combining the scope and drama of Shakespearian history plays with the brash giddiness of pop culture, Prime Purity tells a story of redemption, hope, love, and sacrifice, setting two sides of a generation against one another, in the hope of settling the scores of generations past.
Eighteen years have passed since the Night of Fire, and the progeny of House Macbeth are raised on the run, nurtured and trained by the remains of the shattered Domina order and their Amazon army. The promise of revolution and the horrors of anarchy have settled into a new and more onerous ruling state centered around a cult of personality. Broken and haunted by the loss of his ideals and his beloved wife, the haunted Lesser has left his only daughter in the care of bureaucrats and soldiers who rule with an iron fist in the absence of a real leader. The people are frightened and overtaxed, the aristocrats are scheming and grasping, everyone holding on to what little they can, and all seems doomed to entropy and inertia. A faint hope remains alive among the populace, that one day the true heirs to the throne will return, to finally usher in a new era of peace, prosperity, and hope, to once and for all pay the terrible debt owed by generations of violence, death, and tyranny.
Jesse, adventurous tomboy, acts as bodyguard, protector, and confidante for the brooding but stout-hearted Loyal, who is groomed in seclusion to retake the throne shortly after he reaches manhood. A wearied caravan of maternal warriors led by the haunted Aurora and the fiercely determined Wire has raised them on the run as brother and sister. Keenly aware of their place in history and desperate situation, the young fugitives can only truly confide in each other.
Zero, a young girl of 16, raised by politicians and desperately lonely in her massive palace prison, has learned the skills of war by silently watching and waiting. Aided by her devious and dangerous Sergeants-at-Arms, Mortar and Pestle, whose job it is to keep the populace in line by force and fear, she has created a cult of mystery about herself and her birth which keeps her enemies at bay and her people cowed and acquiescent. When she discovers a dreadful secret that her shaken father has kept from everyone since before her birth, Zero realizes her only chance for survival is in brutally seizing the reins of power, leading to a final confrontation between a barely functioning court held together by fear and panic, and a desperate rebel movement that has been building slowly but surely as the people learn of the existence of the gypsy orphan heirs.
Introducing a new generation of characters, as well as continuing the saga of several figures from the original show, Prime Purity is a mix of dance, combat, performance art, special effects, and compelling drama, as ambitious battle sequences alternate with intimate scenes of sacrifice, love, and the bonds of family. Romantic and sweeping, raucous and violent, Prime Purity is the unexpected curve-ball of the Triptych cycle, a piece that will both enchant and electrify.
Proposed for a 2016 production launch, with performance dates beginning in late 2016/early 2017, funding and backers' information will be appearing on this site in the coming months. For proposal imagery and synopses of the two other plays in the cycle, as well as info on past productions of Bitch Macbeth, click the logos below. For performance/production enquiries or casting info, go to our Contact page.
CAST for proposal photos:
ZERO -- Courtney Lynn Pierkowski
JESSE -- Angie Tennant
LOYAL -- Devin Olsen
WIRE - Alison Preece
MORTAR -- Nicholas Tyler Corbin
PESTLE -- C. Bennett Schmidt
LESSER -- Zachary Small
AURORA -- Ivy Hong
CHORUS -- Andy Dispensa, Dianne Kaye, Jessie Krebs
Cast Photography by Frank Cwiklik
Special Thanks: Morgan Liebman, Anne Breitbach
CLICK THE LOGOS BELOW TO EXPLORE THE OTHER SHOWS IN THE TRIPTYCH CYCLE