“Merlin: The Untold Adventures” written and directed by Ellen Geer

TOPANGA, Calif. - July 19, 2013 - PRLog -- The world premiere of Merlin: The Untold Adventures opens at Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga. A young druid wizard destined for greatness comes of age during Britain’s bloodiest age. Written and directed by Ellen Geer and featuring an original electronic score by Marshall McDaniel and Kellen McDaniel. A prominent figure in Arthurian legend, the Merlin of Celtic lore predates the sorcerer long associated with Camelot. It is this Merlin, discovered in old Welsh and English stories rooted in Judeo-Christian references and historic battles, that inspired writer Ellen Geer.

“Merlin was around to see one civilization fall and shepherd in another,” she says. “For me, it was a revelation – the perfect story for today’s world, as our society seems to teeter on the brink.”

Reframing the wizard warrior in a context that merges fact, fiction and mythology, Geer sets the play against a bloody backdrop of Roman invasions and the start of the Crusades. As the “untold adventures” of Merlin begin, the Celts and their druid priests face expulsion and death, and fear looms over Britain and her neighboring isles. Combining elements from Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae, biblical texts, Atlantis, Stonehenge and a clash of kings and dynasties, Geer introduces a young Merlin grappling with his identity.

Merlin: The Untold Adventures opens on July 20, continuing through Sept. 29 in repertory with The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Royal Family. Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum is located at 1419 North Topanga Canyon Blvd. in Topanga, midway between Malibu and the San Fernando Valley. For a complete schedule of performances and to purchase tickets, call 310-455-3723 or log onto www.theatricum.com. Visit Theatricum on facebook: www.facebook.com/theatricum. Follow us on twitter: @theatricum.