Shakespeare & Company News

Pasadena Playhouse, State Theatre of California, welcomes the LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art) for a Summer Acting Intensive from July 22 through August 2.

Basti is having a rough go of it without his mom, and Rdeca is struggling just to make her first kill. When this 14 year-old boy and this young fox connect, the world just seems to make a whole lot more sense. Rita Kalnejais' First Love is the Revolution is a wild take on the timeless tale of star-crossed lovers - from different sides of the animal kingdom.

As his production of Richard Hawley and Chris Bush's Standing at the Sky's Edge opens in the Crucible, Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres, Robert Hastie, announces programming for 2019.

The Last Kingdom actor will perform as the warrior king in Loveday Ingram's Henry V between 26 July - 25 August. This summer marks the ten-year anniversary of the award-winning theatre, produced by Storyhouse.

King Lear is making its triumphant return to Broadway, starring Glenda Jackson in a gender-swapped version of the title role. As we gear up for this revival, let's take a look back on some notable Lears past...

In Tinkerbell and the Dream Fairies, the adventurous Tinkerbell happens upon the fairies from A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the full company for the world premiere of Tazewell Thompson's inspirational a cappella music infused play, Jubilee. Inspired by the world-renowned Fisk Jubilee Singers, this uplifting new work chronicles the bold African American ensemble as they travel the world, captivating kings, queens and audiences with hymns and spiritual songs supported by their rich voices. Written and directed by Thompson with vocal arrangements and music direction by Dianne Adams McDowell, Jubilee runs April 26 - June 2, 2019 in the Kreeger Theater.

Random Access Theatre opened its 2019 season with the World Premiere of the critically acclaimed play Miranda from Stormville by Adam Bertocci. The production, a modern retelling of Shakespeare's The Tempest, is currently running through March 24 at the IRT Theater in the West Village.  

The Second City is thrilled to announce casting for The Second City e.t.c.'s 43rd Revue. Under the direction of Anneliese Toft with music direction by Jacob Shuda, The Second City e.t.c.'s 43rd Revue features returning cast member Andrew Knox along with first-time resident stage ensemble members Atra Asdou, E.J. Cameron, Mark Campbell, Laurel Krabacher, and Chuck Norment. The stage manager is Laura Hum.

Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night is touring throughout the Midwest this spring and into summer, bringing Shakespeare in the Park to communities for free from May to July. After a rehearsal residency in Carbondale, IL, the tour will officially open on Friday, May 3 at Scratch Brewery (Ava, IL) and will travel throughout Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Wisconsin. Shakespeare's classic tale of twins shipwrecked on the shores of Illyria, both imagining the other drowned, will be set in a world inspired by fame and the fantastical spectacle David Bowie's music and persona created.

Following a bumper year of five shows which saw East Midlands theatre company New Perspectives premiere their Stage Award winning show The Fishermen, a new production based on John Berger's masterpiece A Fortunate Man, and a first-time collaboration with Midland's rural touring company Pentabus on Crossings, New Perspectives have announced two rural touring productions for 2019. The Man Without A Past, a new adaptation of Finnish film, and a new production of debbie tucker green's trade join their 2019 programme, which has already seen the first of this year's international appearances with A Fortunate Man presented at the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival in January, one of only two British companies to take part in the festival.

After receiving a BFA from the University of Calgary and working professionally in the local theatre community, Mir made the decision to move to Pakistan (where his family lives and also works in the arts industry) to pursue a career in film and television where he found incredible success. Three years later, he's back with The Shakespeare Company (where he made his start) to take on one of theatre's toughest roles.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) presents a Writer-Director Communications Lab on Saturday, April 13, 2019 from 10:00am - 6:00pm at Shetler Studios, 244 W. 54 Street PH1, New York, NY 10019. This Lab focuses on facilitating communication between writers and directors to ensure that collaborations run as smoothly as possible. For writers and directors, there is a $75 fee for TRU members and an $85 fee for non-members. Observers are also welcome to come watch and learn. Please reserve using the bright red reservation box at https://truonline.org/events/communications-lab-19/ or e-mail TRUStaff1@gmail.com.

When a group of actors with a passion for the classics (who already have a plan for a theater) are presented with the opportunity to present outdoor Shakespeare in what is arguably one of the loveliest venues in Santa Fe, they just have to go for it; even if it means putting together a large scale production of one of Shakespeare's most well known and beloved works in fewer than six months.

Princeton Summer Theater is pleased to announce that Daniel Krane and Hannah Semmelhack will return as the company's leadership team for the 2019 season. Daniel Krane, Princeton University Class of 2018, will serve as PST's Artistic Director again, while Hannah Semmelhack, Princeton Class of 2020 and a Theater certificate student, reprises her role as Executive Director.

Twelfth Night is a tale of unrequited love hilarious and heartbreaking. Twins are separated during a shipwreck and are forced to fend for themselves in a strange land. The first twin, Viola, falls in love with Orsino, who dotes on Olivia, who falls for Viola but is idolized by Malvolio. Enter Sebastian, who is the spitting image of his twin sister is it possible for this to all end well? Well, it IS a comedy!

Characters at the crossroads of love, power, war, or forgiveness populate Seattle Shakespeare Company's upcoming season just announced by Artistic Director George Mount. Plans for the company's 2019-2020 season include The Tempest, The Rivals, Troilus and Cressida, and Macbeth. "Each of these plays in their own way has a moment when it comes down to a singular choice," said Mount. "The course of the action is set by that defining decision out of which things will never be the same."

Soho Rep. presents the New York Premiere of Obie Award-winning playwright Christopher Chen's Passage (April 23-May 26), a fantasia on colonialism past and present that asks the question: if Country Y occupies Country X, can someone from Country X and someone from Country Y ever form a mutual relationship? Directed by Saheem Ali, Passage is a playful and gripping experiment that isolates power as the sole differentiator between people challenging the arbitrary binaries that define how we live.

The new Broadway production of Oklahoma! begins previews at Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre (1633 Broadway) on tonight, March 19, 2019. Get to know the cast below as they begin Broadway performances!

Aurora Theatre's latest venture is a brand new musical told through the familiar lens of the golden age of Broadway, a la Frank Loesser, complete with bright colors, snappy dialogue, and of course a search for wealth and love.