Archduke at Capital Repertory Theatre

By Rajiv Joseph

“The comic energy of the writing carries the characters to their tragic finish line.”—The Los Angeles Times

Serbia, 1914. When teen-aged Gavrilo Princip coughs blood into a doctor’s lace handkerchief, he’s delighted that the doctor lets him keep such a fancy souvenir. But the outlook quickly dims when Gavrilo and two other boys are diagnosed with deadly tuberculosis. Suddenly, these hungry urchins have nothing to lose. A fanatical captain exploits their despair for his own nationalist ends. Soon, they’re hapless assassins bumbling their way into the start of World War I. In this pitch-dark farce, the notorious demise of Archduke Ferdinand is an allegory of our own perilous moment.

This audaciously theatrical production comes to Capital Repertory Theatre directly from Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater, winner of the 2024 Regional Theatre Tony Award. Inventive, hilarious and heartbreaking, “Archduke” reminds us that a world torn apart by political extremism inevitably eats its young.