Shakespeare & Company News

Seattle Shakespeare Company unveiled its 2020-2021 season containing several artist-initiated projects around the theme of a?oeFamily Trust.a?? Highlights include a comedy by a Shakespeare contemporary, the return of upstart crow collective to the Seattle Shakespeare stage, a 20th Century American classic, and the beloved bickering of Beatrice and Benedick.

Richard II was crowned King at a young age and his immaturity ultimately causes his downfall when his Crown is threatened by his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke.

Hampstead Theatre, has announced the full cast and creative team for James Tait Black prize-nominated writer Hannah Khalil's dark new thriller Sleepwalking which will run from 26 March until 2 May 2020, marking her debut at the theatre.

The African-American Shakespeare Company will present Noël Coward's classic Private Lives, directed by Clay David for six performances only this April. This draws their 2019/20 season to a close, a season that has seen the company mount a much-praised Othello, their annual holiday Cinderella, and the dramatic satire The Trial of One Short-Sighted Black Woman vs. Mammy Louise and Safreeta Mae.

The week the stock market erases its year's gains may be just the right time to open a not-often produced play about swift changes in fortune.

Classic characters from Homer's The Iliad a?" Hector, Ulysses, Achilles, Ajax, Helen a?" leap to life with the help of Shakespeare's imagination to reveal the follies of war in Troilus and Cressida at Seattle Shakespeare Company. David Quicksall directs the production which begins previews on March 17, opens March 20, and runs through April 12 in the Center Theatre at Seattle Center.

2 couples head into a forest and get caught in the middle of a magical prank that leads to disastrous and hilarious results.

Hangmen is officially in previews on Broadway! Martin McDonagh's Hangmen marks McDonagh's seventh play to be produced on Broadway and his return to the stage following his BAFTA and Golden Globe Award-winning and Oscar-nominated film Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri. Hangmen will officially open on Thursday, March 19, 2020, at Broadway's Golden Theatre (252 West 45th Street).

The cast has been announced for hit Canadian play Hockey Mom Hockey Dad which makes its European premiere this spring. Known for his recurring role as Jim Strange on ITV's Endeavour, Sean Rigby (Gunpowder, BBC; Pomona, Orange Tree Theatre/National Theatre; The Rubenstein Kiss, Southwark Playhouse) plays competitive hockey dad Teddy. Performing alongside him as Donna is RSC regular Kristin Atherton (Waterloo Road, BBC; Julius Caesar, Royal Shakespeare Company; Katie Johnstone, Orange Tree Theatre).

Kentucky Shakespeare, the Official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth, announces the 60th anniversary season of the free Kentucky Shakespeare Festival. The extended 11-week, 7-production, 64-performance season runs May 27-August 9, 2020, at the C. Douglas Ramey Amphitheater in Old Louisville's Central Park.

Aurora Theatre Company continues its dynamic 28th season with  Joe Orton's LOOT. Former Aurora Artistic Director Tom Ross (Everything is Illuminated, This Is How It Goes, A Delicate Balance) directs this comedic tour de force.

Based on the popular children's book of the same name by British writer Roald Dahl, best known for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical is the award-winning musical that has captivated the world since created by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Matilda the Musical revels in the anarchy of childhood, the power of imagination and the inspiring story of a girl who dreams of a better life.

Renowned performer ALISSA RHODE leads a multi-talented quartet in RAMBLIN' RHODE AND THE ROADHOUSE ROWDIES, MARCH 19-22, 2020 in the MARLA EICHMANN STUDIO THEATER at SUNSET PLAYHOUSE in Elm Grove, Wisconsin. The group of family members and friends will entertain audiences with stories, anecdotes, and an eclectic musical mix of everything from folk to funk.

Never Not Once, by the award-winning American playwright Carey Crim, is a poignant and emotionally gripping new drama about what happens when a family is forced to confront an unexpected and explosive answer to the question a?oeWhere do I come from?a??

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati is going back to school with the regional premiere drama, Pipeline by Dominique Morisseau, the acclaimed MacArthu 'Genius' Grant playwright. This 2018 Obie Award-winning play powerfully brings an urgent conversation to the forefront, compassionately probing the limits of our education system and a mother's fight to give her son a future-without turning her back on the community that made him who he is. Directed by Ron OJ Parson. Production Sponsor is The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation.

Alex Jennings will lead the cast in the world premiere of Stephen Beresford's The Southbury Child directed by Nicholas Hytner at the Bridge Theatre. Designs are by Mark Thompson with sound by George Dennis and lighting by Max Narula. Further casting will be announced shortly.

THE LEGEND OF ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS, a family-friendly, fun world premiere musical, comes to First Stage this March. Based on the bestselling book by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Adam Rex, First Stage Playwright in Residence John Maclay wrote the book and lyrics with Eric Nordin, also doing music and lyrics. First Stage favorite Kelly Doherty, (outstanding as Miss Trunchbull in last season's hit MATILDA The Musical), will be making her First Stage directing debut with this production.

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's Stage2 Series for Young Audiences presents Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream for students from 15 local schools at seven Student Matinees and one Public Performance, from April 2-10 at The Strand Theatre, 543 Columbia Road, Boston.

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company continues its 2019-2020 Season with the interactive parody of Shakespeare's works, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), directed by CSC Founding Artistic Director Ian Gallanar. Complete Works runs Mar. 6-29, with previews Mar. 4-5, and press night Mar. 6.