DUE WEST, SC - The National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD) presents its 30th Anniversary Tour production of the Henrik Ibsen classic play "Peer Gynt" Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. in Lesesne Auditorium.

Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for youths 18 and under. Erskine faculty, staff and students are admitted free.

Performed in sign language and spoken words, the play follows the life of Peer, who is shipwrecked both literally and morally before his life begins to right itself. "Peer Gynt," said George Bernard Shaw, "is everyone's hero."

(Click photos left and below to view Quicktime previews of Peer Gynt.)

Ibsen wrote Peer Gynt in 1867, exactly a century before the Tony Award-winning National Theatre of the Deaf invented visual language theatre by blending the beauty of American Sign Language with the power of the spoken word. Peer Gynt, written originally as a dramatic poem, teems with Ibsen's galloping language, full of rhythm, movement and music. It's an ideal match for The National Theatre of the Deaf's physical language style which critics have hailed as "poetry in the air."

The cast includes both signing and speaking actors, and the production brings together the NTD's combination of theatricalized American sign language and the choreography of the Pilobolus Dance Theatre (PDT). J Ranelli's translation and adaptation of the Norwegian play comes to life under the direction of NTD Deaf Artistic Director Will Rhys and PDT Artistic Director Robby Barnett.

Signing puppets created by Rolande Duprey, lighting evoking the Northern Lights by Blu, and music and sound designed by Gengi Ito are also featured in the production.

The National Theatre of the Deaf is a Connecticut-based company of deaf and hearing actors who perform in sign language and spoken words. Pilobolus Dance Theatre is also based in Connecticut.

Tickets for the National Theatre of the Deaf's production of Peer Gynt on February 27 at Erskine College will only be sold the day of the show. (No reservations are being taken.) For further information call the Erskinarts Hotline (864) 379-8709 or Joan Little of Erskine's English Department at (864) 379-8849.