When the S. Rudolph Alexander Performing Arts Series was launched more than 40 years ago, its goal was to bring national and international performers to Greenville.

Today, the series continues to bring top-notch performers from around the globe.

This week the New York-based Aquila Theatre Company will visit Pitt County to perform two plays, "The Life and Death of Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare and "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller.

The company is comprised of British and American artists dedicated to classical drama and is one of the foremost producers of touring classical theater in the United States. Aquila visits more than 60 U.S. cities each year.

"Julius Caesar" will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at East Carolina University's Wright Auditorium and "Catch-22" will take the stage the following day, Thursday, at the same time and place.

"Julius Caesar"

Aquila Theatre Company's production of Shakespeare's "The Life and Death of Julius Caesar" follows the rise and fall of one of the world's most notorious leaders.

A Roman military and political leader of great power, Caesar played a critical role in transforming the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire through his conquests in Gaul, extending the Roman world all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. He also conducted the first Roman invasion of Britain in 55 B.C.

Shakespeare's play is set in the midst of this period's political upheaval.

Caesar's friend, Marcus Brutus, must make the difficult decision of whether to join the group of senators planning to assassinate the dictator on the Ides of March.

Aquila's production asks the audience to consider the price of democracy and freedom and the consequences that can befall a society when it is asked to defend its core beliefs.

This gripping political thriller explores the complexities of power as Caesar's assassination sees a nation descend into civil violence and instability. Taking place in 44 B.C., Julius Caesar sets up the conditions for Antony and Cleopatra.

After Caesar's triumphal parade celebrating the defeat of the Roman general Pompey, his confidants, Cassius and Brutus, worry about his vaulted status. While Cassius's fears are motivated by envy and ambition, Brutus fears a dictator-led empire in which the people lose their voice.

He is drawn in by Cassius's machinations and becomes part of the conspiracy that stabs Caesar and kills him. Antony denounces the treachery at Caesar's public funeral and joins forces with Caesar's adopted son and appointed successor, Octavius Caesar, to defeat Cassius and Brutus, thus marking the decline of democracy and the rise of the Roman Empire.

"Catch-22"

"Catch-22" is a satricial and historical fictional play adapted from the novel of the same name by American author Joseph Heller.

First published in 1961, "Catch-22" is set during the latter stages of World War II and follows John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bombardier.

Most events occur while the airmen of the Fighting 256th Squadron are based on the island of Pianosa, west of Italy.

Yossarian devises several strategies to avoid flying combat missions, but the military bureaucracy always finds a way to make him stay.

"Catch-22" is a general critique of bureaucratic operation and reasoning.

Within the play, "Catch-22" is a military rule, the self-contradictory circular logic which, for example, prevents anyone from avoiding combat missions.

Joseph Heller used his own experience as a B-25 bombardier in WWII to write "Catch-22." He survived more than 60 missions as an airman during the war.

Heller began writing "Catch-22" in 1953, but it took him an additional eight years before he delivered the final work to his publisher.

When the novel was first published, it received mixed reviews. In the first year, it only sold 30,000 copies.

After it was released as a paperback in October 1962, the novel captured the interest of baby boomers who identified with the work's anti-war sentiment.

Included in the Aquila production are photographs, movie clips and music from time period, seeking to provoke thought about the nature of war.

If you go!

What: The Aqulia Theatre Company performances of ?Julius Ceasar? and ?Catch 22?

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday

Where: Wright Auditorium

Cost: $8-$32 for Julius Ceasar and $10 for Catch 22

Call: 328-4788

Visit: www.ecu.edu