Shakespeare & Company Adds Art, hang, and The Chairs to 2021 Season
Company to Host Special Benefit Event for Opening Night of King Lear at The New Spruce Theatre
Ticket Sales Begin April 22 for Donors
(Lenox, MA) Shakespeare & Company has added three more productions to its 2021 season. Art, by Yasmina Reza and translated by Christopher Hampton, examines the power and value of modern art, money, and friendship. Directed by Christopher V. Edwards, Art runs July 30 to August 22 in The Roman Garden Theatre. debbie tucker green’s hang, a fascinating and explosive play directed by Regge Life, will run September 10 through October 3 in the Tina Packer Playhouse. The Chairs, from the internationally-renowned master of modern drama, Eugène Ionesco — best known for the comic proportions and bizarre effects that allow his work to be simultaneously hilarious, tragic, and profound — will run October 8–31 in a production directed by James Warwick. The Chairs will also be presented in the Tina Packer Playhouse.
As previously announced, King Lear, directed by Nicole Ricciardi and featuring Christopher Lloyd, will run July 2 to August 29 at The New Spruce Theatre. BECOMING OTHELLO: A Black Girl’s Journey, an autobiographical solo show written and performed by Debra Ann Byrd and directed by Tina Packer, will run July 16–25. A workshop production of Shakespeare’s Measure For Measure, directed by Alice Reagan, will run September 1–5. BECOMING OTHELLO and Measure For Measure will be presented in The Roman Garden Theatre.*
In addition, Shakespeare & Company will celebrate the historic inaugural performance at The New Spruce Theatre, the new outdoor amphitheater underneath the towering spruce trees on the Company’s Berkshire campus, on Friday, July 9. Preceding the opening night of King Lear featuring Christopher Lloyd, the benefit will be an evening of socially-distanced celebration featuring a cocktail reception, light fare, and live music. Special benefit event tickets will go on sale April 22 for current donors, with general ticket sales starting April 29.
Tickets to the 2021 season as well as the July 9 benefit for current donors of $100 or more go on sale Thursday, April 22. FLEXpass holders can begin purchasing tickets Tuesday, April 27. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Thursday, April 29.
FLEXpasses are a popular way to save on tickets for multiple shows. A three-Show FLEXpass is good for one ticket to any three shows in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. In addition, those who received a credit for their 2020 season FLEXpasses will be eligible to redeem them through 2022.
Due to COVID-19, the on-site Shakespeare & Company box office is closed. Please check the Shakespeare & Company website for rain policy information once tickets go on sale.
*All programs subject to change. Shakespeare & Company reserves the right to change its program in accordance with Covid-19 guidelines.
For more information on Shakespeare & Company, the upcoming season, to buy tickets or find out how to become a donor, please visit www.shakespeare.org.
All Shakespeare & Company 2021 season productions currently announced:
King Lear
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Nicole Ricciardi
Featuring Christopher Lloyd
July 2 to August 29
The New Spruce Theatre
Tickets on sale April 22
“Nothing will come of nothing, speak again.” —King Lear
The once-powerful King Lear chooses to divide his kingdom among his three daughters, and so begins one of Shakespeare’s most moving tragedies. At the crucial point of relinquishing his realm, Lear demands to know which of his daughters loves him the most. His ambitious older daughters answer with false praise and lavish flattery, however his youngest daughter, who does truly love him, answers with honesty. Wildly unsatisfied with her response, Lear’s rage sets in motion catastrophic consequences. Ultimately stripped of his privilege and its trappings, Lear must reckon with his own humanity.
BECOMING OTHELLO: A Black Girl’s Journey
Written and performed by Debra Ann Byrd
Directed by Tina Packer
July 16 to 25
The Roman Garden Theatre
Tickets on sale April 22
Described as a living memoir, BECOMING OTHELLO: A Black Girl’s Journey is a multimedia theatrical production with lyrical language, soulful songs and the music that shaped the life of a resilient little girl growing up in Spanish Harlem. This choreopoem chronicles the life of classical actress Debra Ann Byrd.
The solo show flows from Debra Ann’s recounting of her ancestral lineage to her arrival at a crossroad in life, while taking us through her joy-filled and tumultuous youth; a fateful encounter with a company of Shakespearean actors and her remarkable, gender-flipped journey on the road to becoming Othello. We share in Debra Ann’s struggle with self-esteem and how, against all odds, she manages to make it through foster care, teenage pregnancy and single parenting, to become the person she always dreamed she could be. It is a deeply personal, poignant and powerful story of perseverance, tragedy, triumph and ultimately, unconditional love.
Art
By Yasmina Reza
Translated by Christopher Hampton
Directed by Christopher V. Edwards
July 30 to August 22
The Roman Garden Theatre
Tickets on sale April 22
What is the value of friendship, of art, of money? How much would you pay for a white painting? One of Marc’s best friends, Serge, has just bought a very expensive painting. It’s white. To Marc, the painting is a joke, but Serge insists Marc doesn’t have the proper standard to judge the work. Another friend, Ivan, though burdened by his own problems, allows himself to be pulled into this disagreement. In spite of himself, Ivan tells Serge he likes the painting. These old friends square off over the canvas, using it as an excuse to relentlessly batter one another over various failures. Friendship is tested, and the aftermath of action, and its reaction, affirms the power of those bonds.
Measure For Measure (a workshop production)
Directed by Alice Reagan
September 1 to 5
The Roman Garden Theatre
Tickets on sale April 22
“The tempter or the tempted, who sins most?” – Angelo
When Angelo is abruptly appointed to rule over a chaotic and debauched city, he restores order with repressive laws and an iron fist over licentiousness. The object of his own twisted desire is a young nun, whom he puts in an unthinkable position. “To whom should I complain?” is all that young Isabella can utter when she finds herself the target of his abuse of power. Justice can never come soon enough.
hang
By debbie tucker green
Directed by Regge Life
September 10 to October 3
Tina Packer Playhouse
Ticket sales for Hang to be announced soon!
In debbie tucker green’s dark and poetic comedy, three individuals face off in a stark government room where justice hangs in the balance. A devastating decision with lingering consequences forms the underpinning of this unique and riveting story. A runaway hit at the Royal Court in London makes its regional debut here.
The Chairs
By Eugène Ionesco
Directed by James Warwick
October 8 to 31
Tina Packer Playhouse
Ticket sales for The Chairs to be announced soon!
An absurdist play of the first order by a master innovator of the genre. In a house on an island, a very old couple pass their time collecting and inventorying chairs while sharing half-remembered stories. With brilliant eccentricity, Ionesco’s ‘tragic farce’ combines a comic portrait of human folly with a magical experiment in theatrical possibilities.
About Shakespeare & Company
Located in the beautiful Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, Shakespeare & Company is one of the leading Shakespeare festivals of the world. Founded in 1978, the organization welcomes more than 40,000 patrons annually. The Company is also home to an internationally renowned Center for Actor Training and award-winning Education Program. Learn more at www.shakespeare.org.
