A.R.T. Announces Double Extension For SHAKESPEARE EXPLODED! Festival Shows

American Repertory Theater (the A.R.T.) Artistic Director Diane Paulus has announced that two shows in its ambitious Shakespeare Exploded! Festival have been extended due to overwhelming critical acclaim and audience response. Audiences take a deeply-layered sensory journey into the world of Sleep No More, by the acclaimed British company Punchdrunk in their North American debut. This uniquely immersive work, drawing on Macbeth and Hitchcock's thrillers, has secured an additional 16 dates in its disused schoolhouse home through February 7, 2010. In addition, The Donkey Show, a disco adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream that unfolds around audiences as a nightclub fantasy, has now embarked on an open-ended run. Sleep No More unfolds in a sprawling, abandoned school building in Brookline, while The Donkey Show takes place at the newly dubbed club Oberon, adjacent to the Harvard campus.

The reaction to both of these unique theatrical events has been overwhelming and immediate. In a statement, Ms. Paulus said, "It's a thrill to see these two works received with such enthusiasm. The passion the audiences are bringing to Sleep No More and The Donkey Show has made these immersive works come alive and have turned them into something of a ‘Happening'."

The Donkey Show and Sleep No More represent the initial offerings of Paulus' inaugural season as Artistic Director of the A.R.T. The next series at the A.R.T. will be America, Boom, Bust, & Baseball, including Gatz by Elevator Repair Service, directed by John Collins (January 7 -February 7), Clifford Odets' Paradise Lost, directed by Daniel Fish (February 27 - March 20), and the world premiere of the musical Red Sox Nation, directed by Diane Paulus (May 14 - June 27).

For tickets, show times, great deals and meals, visit www.americanrepertorytheater.org.

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is one of the country's most celebrated resident theaters and the winner of numerous awards, including the Tony Award, the Pulitzer Prize and numerous local Elliot Norton and I.R.N.E. Awards. In 2002 A.R.T. was the recipient of the National Theater Conference's Outstanding Achievement Award and in May of 2003 it was named one of the top three theaters in the country by Time magazine.

Founded by Robert Brustein in 1980, over its twenty-nine-year history the A.R.T. has welcomed major American and international theater artists, presenting a diverse repertoire that includes new American plays, bold reinterpretations of classical texts, and provocative new music Theater Productions. A.R.T. has performed throughout the U.S. and worldwide in twenty-one cities in sixteen countries on four continents. It has presented over two hundred productions, over half of which were premieres of new plays, translations and adaptations.

A.R.T. is also a training ground for young artists. The theater's artistic staff teaches undergraduate classes in acting, directing, dramatic literature, dramaturgy, design and playwriting at Harvard University, and in 1987 the A.R.T. founded the Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University. In conjunction with the Moscow Art Theater School, the Institute provides world-class graduate level training in acting, dramaturgy and voice.

Last fall A.R.T. welcomed its new Artistic Director, Diane Paulus, who is currently represented on Broadway with her direction of the Public Theater's Tony Award-winning production of Hair. Under her leadership, and with major funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Theater has developed a new initiative, EXPERIENCE THE A.R.T., which seeks to revolutionize the theater experience through a sustained commitment to empowering the audience. This initiative recognizes that theater is not just a play on the stage, but also a social occasion for people to come together and experience community. This audience-driven vision speaks directly to the A.R.T.'s core mission - "to expand the boundaries of theater." By expanding its focus to include the audience's total theater experience, the A.R.T. seeks to give audiences a voice, a sense of ownership and a feeling of importance in the theatrical event.

To learn more about the A.R.T. and its season visit www.americanrepertorytheater.org or call the A.R.T. InfoLine at (617) 547-8300.

Punchdrunk is the UK's leading exponent of immersive theatre. Based in London, the company produces original works of installation performance on an epic scale. Since its foundation in 2000, the company has developed a phenomenal reputation for transformative productions that fuse intense, physical storytelling, music, and large-scale installation art. Punchdrunk focuses as much on the audience and the performance space as on the performers, narrative, and text. A team of designers takes over deserted spaces and applies a cinematic level of detail to immerse the audience in the world of the play. Punchdrunk rejects the passive obedience expected of audiences in conventional theater. Their desire is for the audience to rediscover the childlike excitement and anticipation of exploring the unknown, and experience a real sense of adventure. Audiences have the freedom to roam the installed environment and experience an individual sensory journey as they choose what to watch and where to go. For further information about the company, visit www.punchdrunk.org.uk.

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