Chicago Shakespeare Theater Presents The Cripple of Inishmaan

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) brings two of the world's finest theater companies to Chicago audiences this spring with back-to-back productions for the World's Stage Series. Ireland's Druid Theatre Company returns to Chicago Shakespeare with The Cripple of Inishmaan March 16-27, 2011, in CST's Courtyard Theater, after a successful run of their darkly comic The Walworth Farce at CST in 2009. Druid also presents a special two-night engagement of Give Me Your Hand on March 20 and 27, 2011, Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare, providing an imaginative look at the paintings in London's National Gallery through the unique insights of Irish poet Paul Durcan. Immediately following Druid's productions, CST presents the National Theatre of Scotland's internationally-acclaimed Black Watch March 29-April 10, 2011, at Chicago's Broadway Armory (5917 N. Broadway). An environmental, intensely physical production exploring the legendary Scottish regiment, Black Watch will find a suitable home at the Armory-a space used for military training by the State of Illinois during World War I, and the only armory playing host to this visceral production through its 2011 tour. For more information about The Cripple of Inishmaan, Give Me Your Hand and Black Watch or to purchase tickets, please visit Chicago Shakespeare Theater's website at www.chicagoshakes.com.

Up first in March, Druid Theatre Company returns to CST's World's Stage March 16-27, 2011, with its celebrated production of The Cripple of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh, Tony and Olivier Award-winning playwright of The Pillowman. In this savagely funny and brutally honest tale staged by Druid Artistic Director Garry Hynes, a Hollywood documentary crew lands on the impoverished island of Inishmaan where, amidst the gossip and gibes of his eccentric neighbors, the ambitious orphan Billy "Cripple" Claven vies for his shot at stardom. First staged by Hynes for Druid in September 2008, The Cripple of Inishmaan toured Ireland and the UK, and went on to attract the highest attendance ever for a production at the Atlantic Theater in New York. It subsequently received numerous New York accolades including an Obie Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, two Lucille Lortel Awards and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance. Druid Theatre Company also presents a special two-night engagement of Give Me Your Hand on March 20 and 27, 2011, at 7:30 p.m. In this imaginative production, two of Ireland's greatest actors, Dermot Crowley and Dearbhla Molloy, take audiences on a tour through London's National Gallery, sharing the insights and stories of Irish poet Paul Durcan. Tickets for Give Me Your Hand Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare are $25. Tickets for The Cripple of Inishmaan in CST's Courtyard Theater are $46-$56, with special discounts available for groups of 10 or more. All patrons receive a 40% parking discount at Navy Pier garages.

Following Druid's productions, CST welcomes the National Theatre of Scotland's powerful Black Watch March 29-April 10, 2011. The internationally-acclaimed production has garnered 22 awards, including the New York Drama Circle Award for Best Foreign Play and four Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Director, Best Theatre Choreography, Best Play and Best Sound Design. Black Watch is presented in partnership with the Chicago Park District at its Broadway Armory, which will create a dramatic military environment for the production as it hurtles audiences from a pool room in Fife to an armored wagon in Iraq. Weaving together stories based on playwright Gregory Burke's interviews with former soldiers who served in Iraq, Black Watch is directed by John Tiffany, associate director of the National Theatre of Scotland. Movement for the production is by Steven Hoggett, co-founder and artistic director of Frantic Assembly (London), whose choreography for Green Day's American Idiot is now playing on Broadway. Tickets for Black Watch at Chicago's Broadway Armory (5917 N. Broadway) are $38-$45, with special discounts available for groups of 10 or more. Convenient public parking is available surrounding the Armory.

Kicking off the New Year at Chicago Shakespeare Theater:
As You Like It-January 5-March 6, 2011, in CST's Courtyard Theater
By William Shakespeare ? Directed by CST Associate Artistic Director Gary Griffin
Funk It Up About Nothin'-January 21-February 13, 2011, Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare
A "hip-hoptation" of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing ? Created and Directed by GQ and JQ
Short Shakespeare! Macbeth-January 22-March 5, 2011, in CST's Courtyard Theater
A CST Family abridged production of William Shakespeare's Macbeth ? Directed and Adapted by David H. Bell

About Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Recipient of the 2008 Regional Theatre Tony Award, Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) offers a broad spectrum of theatrical experiences year-round, engaging and entertaining audiences from all walks of life and from around the world. CST has garnered acclaim under the leadership of Artistic Director Barbara Gaines and Executive Director Criss Henderson, including 55 Joseph Jefferson Awards and three Laurence Olivier Awards. The Theater has experienced record growth since moving to its current, state-of-the-art facility on Navy Pier in 1999, and will celebrate its 25th Anniversary next season.

The 38-play canon of William Shakespeare forms the core of CST's work and Subscription Series, complemented by other dramatic works-from traditional classical theater to new classics that resonate with Shakespeare's timeless insights into the human condition. Through a 48-week season encompassing more than 600 performances, Chicago Shakespeare leads the community as the largest employer of Chicago actors. CST also contributes to an international community of creative exchange through its World's Stage Series, which affords Chicago audiences prime opportunities to experience the cultural and artistic traditions of some of the world's iconic theater troupes as well as sending some of CST's best works abroad. Chicago Shakespeare is committed to making theater an expansive, ever-changing and lifelong relationship. For family audiences, CST Family presents abridged Shakespeare productions, timeless fables and fairy tales, interactive music concerts and world-premiere musical theater created with families in mind. CST's education outreach program, Team Shakespeare, has served over 1 million students and teachers throughout the Midwest, introducing the Bard's legacy to a new generation.

About the World's Stage Series

Chicago Shakespeare Theater's World's Stage Series gives Chicagoans the unique opportunity to experience different cultural and artistic traditions and some of the world's finest productions without leaving home. In curating the World's Stage, CST takes its cue from Shakespeare's high mark of quality and from the eclectic diversity of Europe's touring circuit, joining an international community of creative exchange. Since the inception of the Series in 2000, CST has hosted over 20 iconic troupes such as The Abbey Theatre (Dublin), Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (London), the Chekhov InterNational Theatre Festival (Moscow) and La Comédie-Française (Paris). The works presented by these companies range from intimate one-man works like South African Omphile Molusi's Itsoseng to grand spectacles like the French troupe Ilotopie's Water Fools (Fous de Bassin), performed entirely atop the waters of Lake Michigan. Chicago Shakespeare Theater has contributed to this exciting international exchange by sending some of its best works abroad, including the Olivier Award-winning production of Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures (2003), Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, which marked CST's debut at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-Upon-Avon (2006) and Funk It Up About Nothin', which garnered acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (2008) and embarks on a tour of Australia in 2011.