HAPEVILLE, GA — The Academy Theatre located in Hapeville is one of the longest-running professional theatres in Georgia.

On Friday, October 24, the theatre will debut a new version of an Old English story, which is finding surprising parallels in today’s political climate.

Actor and writer Phillip DePoy says he thought when he marched for change as a young man, all problems were solved. But he sees vigilance is still needed, as shown by the monsters in his play adaptation of the ancient poem of Beowulf.

“Grendel’s Mother exists only for revenge. That’s her entire reason for battling Beowulf. And I think there seems to be a lot of revenge abroad in the land currently,” DePoy says.

As for the Dragon character in the later part of the story and what it symbolizes, DePoy says, “it’s greedy, hoarding, and hates life in general, and only wants to acquire things. The more it acquires the less happy it is.”

The play is directed by Rosemary Newcott and is told in part by multimedia, including film, shadow puppetry, song, and stage.

Tickets are available at the Academy Theatre’s website.

The show runs on weekends from October 24 until November 9.

WSB Radio’s Lisa Nicholas contributed to this story.