Actor's accent is on four local plays

Dafydd Rees plays a butler in the Publick Theatre's production of "Travesties." (COURTESY OF THE PUBLICK THEATRE)

Dafydd Rees doesn't know if he can do an American accent. But he hasn't had to try. Over the next six months, the British-born actor will use his native accent in no less than four plays: "Travesties," "The Importance of Being Earnest," "Hay Fever," and "The Seagull."

"I'm playing three Englishmen and a Russian," the soft-spoken Rees says during a break from rehearsals for the Publick Theatre production of Tom Stoppard's "Travesties," which opens Thursday at the Boston Center for the Arts' Plaza Theatre. "It's a lot, I suppose, but I feel very lucky to have the luxury of being able to pursue a career I put aside for nearly 40 years."

After singing in the Canterbury Cathedral choir as a boy and studying piano and the bassoon, Rees worked in theater for a few years before becoming a music historian. He's written more than 20 books, in cluding "Rock & Pop Year by Year" and "VH1 Rock Stars Encyclopedia" with business partner Luke Crampton.

"I have a break in my schedule which allows me to concentrate on theater," Rees says, "but I do have two book proposals being presented at the London Book Fair, and things may get tricky if they get picked up."

It seems his schedule will be tricky enough as he moves from one role to another. "Travesties" closes May 3, and the Lyric Stage Company production of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" opens just six days later. Rees gets a few weeks break before "The Seagull" opens July 3 and then "Hay Fever" July 24 at the Publick; those two plays run in repertory through Sept. 7.

"I'm lucky because 'Travesties' is really a spoof of 'Earnest,' so one leads naturally into the other," Rees says.

In "Travesties," Stoppard imagines a meeting between writer James Joyce, revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, and Dadaist poet Tristan Tzara, but sets it within the context of a production of "Earnest." The story is told by Henry Carr, a minor diplomat who is remembering (not always accurately) his performance in an "Earnest" directed by Joyce. The play combines witty wordplay with the philosophical and political viewpoints of the three leaders of important movements of their time.

"I play the butler in both 'Travesties' and 'Earnest,' " says Rees, "so I'm not intricately part of the mayhem, but the parallels in the two plays make it feel like my character is the one on the audience's side. In 'Travesties,' Bennett the butler keeps saying things he shouldn't know, and there's an important twist."

Although he has appeared on area stages in "1776," "Gagarin Way" and "Talking to Terrorists" in the past, "Travesties," "Earnest" and "Hay Fever" are the first comedies Rees has done in Boston. "I find dramatic roles much harder to do," he says. "I'm very comfortable playing comedy, because I think British humor is based on silences, while American humor is more fast-paced and nonstop. I know how to hold a moment."

"Travesties" director Diego Arciniegas says Rees is "such a find. "He's very relaxed, comfortable in his skin, and perfect for a Stoppard play. Like Stoppard, Dafydd is unafraid, unapologetic about being an intellectual, and able to shift easily to lowbrow humor."

"Travesties" tickets: 617-933-8600, bostontheatrescene.com

Berkshires bounty

Barrington Stage Company's third annual Musical Theatre Lab season in Pittsfield opens with "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick" (June 18-July 5), a fully staged version of last summer's work-in-progress based on a book by Chris Van Allsburg. That's followed by "My Scary Girl" (July 9-26), a romance/comedy/horror tale based on a Korean film, and "See Rock City & Other Destinations" (Aug. 7-23), a musical sightseeing tour. Other events include a staged reading of "WATT!?!," about James Watt, written by former "Daily Show" head writer David Javerbaum and GrooveLily's Brendan Milburn (May 24-25), and "Sleepless Variations" (July 31-Aug. 3), Broadway actress Mary Testa's tribute to songwriters Jimi Hendrix, Björk, and Rodgers and Hammerstein. Singer/songwriters Michael R. Jackson (July 18-19) and Nikos Tsakalakos (July 25-26) will perform. Tickets: 413-236-8888, barringtonstage.com