The Aquila Theatre Company makes a welcome return to City Hall theatre tonight to kick off the 2004 Bermuda Festival in style.

This year it presents two works: Shakespeare?s ?Othello? tonight and tomorrow night, and Rudyard Kipling?s ?The Man Who Would Be King? on Saturday and Sunday nights. All performances begin at 8 p.m.

Preceding tonight?s and Saturday night?s performances are talks given by the Aquila Theatre Company in the Bermuda National Gallery, each beginning at 7 p.m.

?Othello? is a classic Shakespearean tragedy. Set in a hotbed of racial hatred, jealousy and mistrust, the play explores the destruction of a noble spirit.

?Othello? was Aquila Theatre?s winning submission to the National Endowment for the Arts Shakespearean project, and promises to provide Bermuda Festival audiences with a memorable theatrical experience.

?The Man Who Would Be King? is an adaptation of one of Kipling?s finest stories. Written in 1888 at the height of British Imperialism, it explores how power can corrupt even the finest of souls when they are put in a position of power and god-like worship. This evocative, hilarious and compelling tale is brought to life on stage as only Aquila Theatre can.

?What we try to do,? says associate director Robert Richmond, ?is to get audiences to buy into an admittedly very obvious magic act.? Aquila Theatre Company asks its audiences to drop all that is of today?s world at the door and transcend time and space to a different, yet uncannily familiar place. They invite us to let our imagination be our guide as they take us on a wonderful mystery tour.

Let the play begin!

Using the Latin word ?eagle? for its name, founder and artistic director Peter Meineck and his dedicated team of players have latched onto the wings of their powerful namesake and soared. ?The play?s the thing? is their mantra, and it is a dedication to the text that is paramount in any Aquila production. Mr. Meineck has been described as ?taking the classics off their pedestal and presenting them as live action, flesh and blood adventures?.

In keeping with the Festival?s special thrust on ?education? this year, the Aquila Theatre Company will give a special ?guided tour? of ?Othello? for invited schools, for which tickets have already been issued. This will include acting out scenes and explaining the text.

Similarly, age-appropriate workshops and/or master classes will be conducted relating to other Festival performances aimed at children. The Festival also issued special packages to all of the public and private schools as well as the Bermuda College in December, as a result of which more than 1000 applications for tickets were received, all of which will be honoured.

For ticket information visit the Festival box office in the ferry terminal building on Front Street between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. General enquiries: ( 292-8572. Ticket sales: ( 296-5774 or visit website www.bermudafestival.com