Jerry Neal's one-man show to explore wireless pioneer Marconi

In the early years of the 20th Century, the Titanic got the Carpathia rushing to the rescue and Scotland Yard got its man thanks to a new invention: the wireless telegraph.

This fascinating history comes to life as RF Micro Devices co-founder Jerry Neal performs a one-man show as Guglielmo Marconi, the father of all wireless communication, in "Marconi Speaks," at 7 p.m. Thursday, September 16, at the Sunset Theatre.

The performance, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, is free and the public is invited.

Neal promises to keep his audience on the edge of their seats as he steps back in time to delve into the invention and inventor that changed the world.

The multimedia show, which includes a full set, period costume and a demonstration of wireless technology, focuses on two key events in the histories of both Marconi and wireless: the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 and the “North London Cellar Murder” in 1910 — the first case in which transatlantic wireless led to the capture of a fugitive.

Neal also brings along fascinating displays, including a reproduction of Marconi’s radio transmitters and receivers and reproductions of artifacts from the Titanic.

Neal, who lives in northwestern Randolph County, is executive vice-president of strategic development for RF Micro Devices, the company he helped found.

As a young boy, Neal replicated many of Marconi’s early experiments and has done exhaustive research on Marconi from a business and personal point of view. As part of his research, he traveled to London and stood at the podium of the 200 year old Royal Institution, where Marconi demonstrated the results of his improvements and advancement in wireless communication.

Neal will be introduced by Jerry Bledsoe, co-author of with Neal of Fire in the Belly: Building a World-leading High Tech Company from Scratch in Tumultuous Times, and Built on a Rock: A Memoir of Family, Faith and Place.