Allyn Burrows News

Shakespeare & Company has announced the return of Martha Mitchell Calling by Jodi Rothe featuring critically acclaimed Annette Miller. This special 4-day only, new virtual adaptation is directed by filmmaker Mark Farrell, and runs October 28 - November 1, 2020. The riveting dark comedy re-examines the life and legacy of the flamboyant, and often outrageous, Martha Mitchell, who ultimately played the pivotal role in the downfall of Nixon's Presidency, after discovering the Watergate conspiracy.

Shakespeare & Company and the Cherry Orchard Festival will co-present the Arlekin Players Theatrea??s production State vs. Natasha Banina, a live online interactive art experiment directed by Igor Golyak, 2020 Elliot Norton Award-winner for Best Director, and featuring Darya Denisova, winner of the 2020 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Actress, Small or Fringe Theater, for her performance in Arlekina??s The Stone. 

In response to the financial impact caused by COVID-19, Shakespeare & Company is cutting expenses and launching the Springboard fundraising campaign to help cover the loss of earned income from ticket sales this summer.

Shakespeare & Company has announced the launch of a new book, Shakespeare & Company: When Action is Eloquence, co-written by Company Member Bella Merlin and Founding Artistic Director Tina Packer, with a special foreword by Artistic Director Allyn Burrows.

Shakespeare & Company is postponing its 2020 Summer Season to next summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic (coronavirus). This unanimous decision from the Board of Trustees, Artistic Director Allyn Burrows, and Managing Director Adam Davis reflects the commitment to the health and safety of Company patrons, artists, staff, students, and volunteers.

The a?oeseasona?? for the performing arts in The Berkshires typically runs the six months between May and October. With the limited window of opportunity to create the outstanding work Berkshire arts organizations are known for and the public health concerns making it difficult to imagine let alone plan for an a?oeordinarya?? season. Accordingly, it is not surprising that many have adopted a a?oewait and see posturea?? as Julieann Boyd Artistic Director of Barrington Stage Company announced this morning.

Shakespeare & Company is excited to announce its 2020 summer season, May 21 - October 18, 2020. Under the theme 'The Labyrinth of Love' the season includes Shakespeare titles: King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, The Comedy of Errors, and, in a special workshop production, Measure for Measure. The contemporary plays this season are The Lifespan of a Fact by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell, and Gordon Farrell; What Rhymes With America, by the Obie Award-winning playwright Melissa James Gibson; Row After Row by Jessica Dickey; Susan Smith Blackburn Award and Obie Award winner My Left Breast by Susan Miller; and Laurence Olivier Award winner Betrayal by Harold Pinter.

Shakespeare & Company proudly presents a costumed reading of Sense and Sensibility, written by Kate Hamill based on the novel by Jane Austen. The lively reading is directed and staged by longtime Company member and Producing Associate Ariel Bock. This funny, warm-hearted classic tale will have a special limited run from December 14 - 15 in the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre. Additionally, the Company will host a festive holiday event with a private reading of Sense and Sensibility, cocktails, and hors d'oeuvres on Friday, December 13.

Shakespeare & Company is proud to have been honored with six Berkshire Theatre Critics Awards. At a ceremony held in Pittsfield last week, the Board of the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association presented 23 Berkshire Theatre Awards. This was the fourth year the awards have been presented to honor and celebrate the excellence and diversity of theatre in the greater Berkshire region.

Shakespeare & Company has announced its Shakespeare lineup for the 2020 summer season. Under the direction of Artistic Director Allyn Burrows and Managing Director Adam Davis, the season will include three Shakespeare plays: King Lear directed by Nicole Ricciardi featuring the Drama Desk and Emmy Award-winning actor Christopher Lloyd (Taxi, Back to the Future trilogy) in the title role, Much Ado About Nothing directed by Kelly Galvin, and The Comedy of Errors directed by Michael F. Toomey. Season FLEXpasses are now on sale. Additionally, the Company has announced their annual Summer Gala will be held on Saturday, June 27th. 

Shakespeare & Company recently appointed Susan Dibble as Interim Director for the Company's Center for Actor Training. Dibble, a Founding Member of Shakespeare & Company, is an educator and artist. Her movement work was seen on stage this past season in Twelfth Night and for the past four decades she has been faculty member for the training program, teaching at the Month Long Intensive, Summer Shakespeare Intensive (formerly the Summer Training Institute), and various workshops.

Shakespeare & Company is pleased to announce an initiative to invite qualified entities, including real estate or other business and property development firms and non-profits, to propose ideas to further develop the Company's campus 33-acre property in Lenox. For more than four decades, Shakespeare & Company has been one of the premiere cultural attractions of Berkshire County, and a globally recognized landmark for theatrical performance, arts education, and professional training. This new project represents a unique opportunity to collaborate directly with the Company.

Shakespeare & Company presents Donald Margulies' Tony Award Nominee, Time Stands Still. This production will be directed by Nicole Ricciardi, who helmed last seasons critically-acclaimed production of Creditors by August Strindberg, and the 2017 sell-out 4000 Miles. Time Stands Still marks the second time the Company produces a play by Margulies, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. This compelling drama runs from September 13 to October 13 in the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre.

Shakespeare & Company presents a one-time-only performance of Julius Caesar directed by Founding Artistic Director Tina Packer, who was recently honored by a Lifetime Achievement Award by The Shakespeare Theatre Association.

Shakespeare & Company presents a one-time-only performance of Julius Caesar directed by Founding Artistic Director Tina Packer, who was recently honored by a Lifetime Achievement Award by The Shakespeare Theatre Association. The special staged reading features the Obie Award-winning John Douglas Thompson as Brutus along with a cast of returning Company favorites. The reading will be held in the Tina Packer Playhouse at 1:30pm on September 1st.

Shakespeare & Company presents a special limited run workshop production of William Shakespeare's Coriolanus in the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre. Performances run from August 21 - August 25, and brings together Artistic Director Allyn Burrows and Founding Artistic Director Tina Packer performing together for the first time. The Company also welcomes Christopher V. Edwards, Artistic Director of Actors Shakespeare Project, to the Company's stage.

Shakespeare & Company presents MacArthur a?oeGeniusa?? Award recipient Suzan-Lori Parks' pulitzer prize-winning play, Topdog/Underdog directed by the distinguished Regge Life, who helmed the Company's acclaimed razor sharp comedy God of Carnage in 2017.

The entire cast proves themselves to be exemplary delivering long complicated dialogue that remains true to the old English, not with trite overdone accents but with polished voices and presentation that helps to make each unique, authentic, and engaging. Although the language can be challenging at times, the actors use of body language and near flawless diction helps greatly. Their musicality is both noteworthy and impressive.

In special partnership with BRIDGE, Shakespeare & Company host its annual Fourth of July Community Celebration 'We Hold These Truths' from 1:30-5:00pm.

Shakespeare & Company is thrilled to announce that it has been awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and from Arts Midwest.