ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD Opens Hart House Theatre's 2012-13 Season, Sept 21

Hart House Theatre, the University of Toronto's Performing Arts Leader Since 1919, has announced its 2012/2013 season.  This season's line-up is a diverse mix of classical and contemporary work as Hart House Theatre presents the first major success of  a prolific playwright, a controversial one-woman show that has stirred passions across the globe, the Bard's greatest love story, an original musical co-written by our own artistic director and a critically acclaimed play that has opened the hearts and minds of audiences since its first staging. The full season includes:

ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD
Written by Tom Stoppard
Sept 21 - Oct 6, 2012

Written by one of the world's greatest contemporary playwrights, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead has played across the globe, been adapted into an award-winning film and is now as recognizable as the classic on which it is based. This Tony Award winning play explores the confused antics of two minor characters from William Shakespeare's Hamlet: the courtiers, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Using his razor-sharp wit and unmatched comedic brilliance, Stoppard creates protagonists that grapple the big philosophical questions while they unwittingly fight for their lives.

MY NAME IS Rachel Corrie
Taken from the writings of Rachel Corrie
Edited by Alan Rickman and Katherine Viner
Oct 17 - 20, 2012

In 2003 Rachel Corrie, a 23 year-old American student, was crushed to death by an Israeli Army bulldozer as she was trying to stop the demolition of a Palestinian home in Gaza. My Name is Rachel Corrie is a controversial, passionate and stunning account of one woman's participation in events that most of us only experience through watching the news at six. Since its sold-out opening in 2005, My Name is Rachel Corrie has acted as a catalyst for discussion and an eye-opener to the impact of western foreign policies on people living thousands of miles away. 

ROMEO AND JULIET
By William Shakespeare
Nov 7 - 24, 2012

As the best known love story in the English language, Romeo and Juliet celebrates the contrast between comedy and tragedy, the futility of conflict, the power of love to unite and what we lose when we fail to listen to one another. Hart House Theatre is proud to continue its tradition of producing high-calibre and accessible classics with Romeo and Juliet: an icon of love and passion against all odds, containing the world's most beautiful poetry on the subject. 

ROBIN HOOD: THE LEGENDARY MUSICAL COMEDY
Music and lyrics by Kieren MacMillan and Jeremy Hutton
Book by William Foley, Jeremy Hutton, Jesse McLean, Kevin MacPherson and Kate Smith
Based on the collective creation by Shakespeare by the Sea - Halifax
Jan 11 - 26, 2013

This Canadian-made musical features clever, biting and amusing twists on the familiar legends of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. With fast-paced, witty lyrics and a polished, sophisticated score, this show is sure to have you singing "The Evil Song", "Undercover Lover" and "After Intermission" long after the curtain has come down. Irreverent to the core, Robin Hood is tongue-in-cheek entertainment that jabs an accusing finger at the social constructs which inform our notions of status and the distribution of wealth.

BENT
By Martin Sherman
Mar 1 - 9, 2013

Bent /bent/: adjective. A derogatory term used in some European countries to refer to homosexuals.

This ground-breaking play created awareness at a time when there was little historical research or discussion about the Nazi persecution of homosexuals and the significance of the pink triangle. The success of the play and its strength as a story earned Bent nominations for both a Pulitzer and a Tony Award. To this day, Bent remains one of the finest pieces of theatre about tolerance, the endurance of love and the necessity of human dignity.