Coriolanus at New Mexico Shakespeare Festival

Shakespeare’s Coriolanus is a gripping political tragedy that explores the volatile rise and fall of a brilliant Roman general undone by his own pride and contempt for the people he’s meant to serve. In a world where loyalty is fragile and power can shift in an instant, Coriolanus asks: what happens when personal integrity collides with public expectation?

This bold, ensemble-driven production is physical, immediate, and alive with rhythm. The cast creates a live soundscape using sticks, poles, and objects built into the set itself—transforming the stage into a living, breathing instrument. The percussion doesn’t distract from the text—it heightens it, weaving together sound and speech to drive the urgency and emotional intensity of each moment. Every character develops a unique rhythmic vocabulary, choreographed at times, but often born spontaneously from the demands of the scene.

Language in this world is not ornamental—it’s essential. Shakespeare’s text is treated as a tool for action, with every word rooted in need, truth, and human pursuit. We speak it to move, to provoke, to survive.

The result is a raw, honest theatrical experience—actors fully present, physically alive, and emotionally fearless. This Coriolanus is not a history lesson—it’s a mirror held up to our own time, beating with the pulse of rebellion, loyalty, and power.