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The Ophaboom Theatre Company was founded in 1991 by Geoff Beale and Howard Gayton. Based in London, England, the company specializes in creating and performing contemporary works in the Italian Commedia dell'Arte tradition. In its earliest form, Commedia married the rough entertainments of traveling mountebanks and street peddlers with the masks of carnival and the classicism of Greek and Roman drama — using stock characters to create a vibrant physical spectacle performed on high trestle stages in crowded squares or piazzas. The popularity of Commedia dell'Arte spread across Europe with profound results. Its themes can be found time and time again in the works of Shakespeare, Moliere and other great European dramatists.

Drawing on Medieval Theatre and the origins of Commedia, Ophaboom set out to create a popular (and politically topical) style of theatre that would resonate with a modern audience, in the manner of strolling players. Although they sometimes perform in traditional theatre spaces, they also set up their trestle stage at festivals, on street corners, in village halls, in bowling alleys and many other less conventional venues, delighting in bringing theatre to audiences who might not otherwise go to see it. They perform (in a variety of languages) in France, Spain, Italy, Holland, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Canada, the United States, South Korea, and throughout the British Isles. They have performed four times at the Venice Carnival and were the first English company to appear at the Medieval Festival in Le Puy–en–Velay. The company was featured in the book Commedia dell'Arte: A Handbook for Troupes by John Rudlin and Olly Crick.

Current members of the company: Geoff Beale, Howard Gayton, Sarah Ratheram, and Claire Jones.

[edit] External Links

• The Ophaboom Theatre Company website