King Lear at Babes With Blades Theatre Company

Babes With Blades Theatre Company’s (BWBTC) presents the final production in its 2026 season, William Shakespeare’s King Lear, directed by Alison Dornheggen and fight choreography by Jess Pennachio, October 22 - November 21 in Theatre 3 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont.

King Lear tells the complicated story of a king who divides his kingdom into thirds for his three daughters and the unforeseen struggles from this decision’s aftermath. His unraveling is parallelled by the nefarious journey of a jealous Edmund, who seeks to overtake his nobleman father’s affairs from his half brother.

The running time, including intermission, is approximately two hours and 20 minutes. The performance schedule is Thursdays – Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. The open caption performances are Saturday, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 8 at 3 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 12 and Friday, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. The sensory friendly performance is Sunday, Oct. 25 at 3 p.m. with the fully masked audience performance, Sunday, Nov. 1 at 3 p.m. There is no performance on Saturday, Oct. 31. Streaming dates for King Lear will be announced at a future date. Tickets are $28 for students and seniors, $37 for general admission at the Theater Wit Box Office, 773-975-8150, or at BabesWithBlades.org.