'Many Moons' comes to Durham's Common Wealth Endeavors

Alice Birch’s “Many Moons” is hopping across the pond to Durham’s Common Wealth Endeavors.

Common Wealth Endeavors is a Raleigh-based theatrical cooperative, whose mission is to connect the United States to different cultures through English-language theater.

Artistic director Gregor McElvogue founded Common Wealth last year, and he has brought a production of “The Innocents” and a rehearsed reading of “Bully Boy” to the Triangle area since then. “Many Moons,” which opened Thursday, is Common Wealth’s third production.

McElvogue, who was born in the U.K., said that he finds the English language an important tool for filling in the gap between certain cultures.

“The U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand — the Commonwealth of the old British Empire — all share this common language,” McElvogue said.

“And out of that comes a set of riches that we can use to understand other cultures through things like drama and plays.”

McElvogue found “Many Moons” while exploring the National Theatre Bookshop in London and knew he wanted to bring the production to the United States.

“It was a play that immediately started to speak to me off of the page,” McElvogue said.

Theatre 503 in London is the only place where the play has been done before, said McElvogue, who went through a long process to secure the rights to debut “Many Moons” in the United States.

The work is set during a single day in July, and it revolves around the romantic struggles of its only four characters — Juniper, Robert, Oliver and Meg.

J Evarts, a Triangle-based actress and 1993 UNC alumna, plays Meg, a 40-something pregnant wife living in a posh neighborhood in London.

“She’s really interesting — she has a biting wit, and she’s a little prickly, but I think very funny,” Evarts said.

McElvogue said Evarts, a longtime friend, popped into his head immediately as a perfect actress for Meg when he first read the play.

Evarts said that Birch’s play gave the actors a lot to work with in terms of getting into character.

“The writing is sort of poetic and lyrical in spots, and very visual,” Evarts said.

“When I read it I could absolutely picture these people and this neighborhood and that day. It really pulls you right in.”

Scott Heath , on the other hand, who plays the socially awkward and lovestruck Oliver, was originally envisioned in a totally different role.

Heath worked with McElvogue on Common Wealth Endeavor’s production of “The Innocents” last year, and he was approached by the director to be the technical director and builder for “Many Moons.”

After the original actor couldn’t play Oliver, Heath stepped in to do the reading for the part.

“Gregor liked me in the reading and decided to keep me on board,” Heath said, who commissioned friend Cory Livengood to replace him as technical director.

Heath, who holds a degree in computer and electronic engineering, said he found a lot to sympathize with in Oliver’s introverted and science-inclined character.

“I would say I’m a lot more social than Oliver, but I saw a lot of his struggles in my classmates and I felt it occasionally myself,” Heath said.

“The play is largely about different approaches to love — some are good, some are bad and some are confusing and curious — so that’s certainly something that we all can appreciate.”

Heath also said he hopes the audience will engage with the characters and their stories and spur reflections and discussions about the play and its themes. McElvogue agreed.

“The play is quite powerful — I’ll be surprised if anyone who comes to see it isn’t moved by the characters and the stories that they’re telling,” McElvogue said.

“If it makes people think, and it wakes people up, then we’ve done our job for a chilly November evening.”

arts@dailytarheel.com