Shakespeare Theatre Company

Understanding and embodying Shakespeare’s villains in ‘All the Devils Are Here’ at Off-Broadway’s DR2 Theatre

The dramatic canon of William Shakespeare is unsurpassed for its universal themes and insights into the minds, motivations, and human nature of its complex three-dimensional characters, both heroic...

Double bill of comic shorts offers an unconventional take on ‘Shakespeare’s Ladies at Tea & Shakespeare’s Deaths’ at NYC’s Under St. Marks

This year’s theme of The Little Shakespeare Festival at Under St. Marks, presented annually by FRIGID New York to celebrate independent theater and performance inspired by the Bard’s canon, is...

Fairy tales meet feminism in ‘Once Upon A One More Time’ at Broadway’s Marquis Theatre

The hit songs of Pop Princess Britney Spears are the impetus behind Broadway’s latest jukebox musical Once Upon A One More Time, with a book by Jon Hartmere that reimagines favorite childhood...

What’s ‘Once Upon a One More Time’ doing at the Shakespeare?

There’s got to be more to it than a cool chance to groove on the oeuvre of Britney Spears. | Column by JOHN STOLTENBERG

‘Once Upon a One More Time’ is wacky but it works

The show at STC inspired by the music of Britney Spears is as thought-provoking as it is toe-tapping, as clever as it is hilarious, and a bona fide success. | Review by NICOLE HERTVIK

How to be a hero: The lesson of ‘Remember This’ at Shakespeare Theatre

David Strathairn’s spectacularly affecting performance as Jan Karski becomes not only an emotional but a moral experience.

Once upon a time under the stars at Wolf Trap: Shakespeare Theatre’s gala

On the scene at the company’s buzzed-about fundraiser.

David Strathairn to star at STC as WWII resistance fighter Jan Karski

October 6–17: A masterful solo performance about the man who tried to warn the Oval Office of the Holocaust.

Shakespeare Theatre Company’s ‘The Amen Corner’ returns in glory

The acclaimed production of James Baldwin’s classic is back for two weeks only.

Single tickets now on sale for 2021/22 at Shakespeare Theatre

Season kicks off with debut of Broadway-bound Britney Spears musical.

Whitney White on directing James Baldwin’s classic ‘The Amen Corner’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

A frank, in-depth interview about activating the actor, performance for the white gaze, the play’s queer narrative, and much more.

‘Will on the Hill’ asks, ‘What’s the deal with Shakespeare?’

Members of Congress and A-list actors join Shakespeare Theatre Company in fun and frolic for a good cause.

Post-Play Palaver: A double take on ‘Blindness’ at STC

Post-Play Palaver is an occasional series of conversations between DC Theater Arts writers who saw the same performance, got really into talking about it, and decided to continue their exchange in...

Shakespeare Theatre Company to resume full-capacity shows in September

Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Artistic Director SIMON GODWIN announced the Company’s 2021/22 Season in a virtual townhall meeting for season subscribers, donors, Board members, and STC staff. The Tony...

‘Blindness’ in darkness at Shakespeare is a brilliant beacon of theater

On this Kentucky Derby weekend, wondering what theatrical “horse” will nose ahead and augur well for a new world of theater when we can emerge from the pandemic, I’m placing my bet on Blindness at...

In ‘Blindness’ at STC, the audience is live, with not an actor in sight

Shakespeare Theatre Company will open the doors of Sidney Harman Hall for the first time in over a year for the Donmar Warehouse’s sound and light installation Blindness. Prior to ReOpen DC’s...

STC’s ‘A Winter’s Tale’ mock trial submits evidence that spring is coming

Critic Marjorie Garber suggests that A Winter’s Tale is “a hall of mirrors” and that the main character, King Leontes, lives in a solipsistic universe. The beloved tradition of STC’s Mock Trial, which...

Washington wonks and Bard buffs to meet in mock trial Thursday

Shakespeare Theatre Company’s annual Mock Trial—“the funniest, most entertaining event in Washington” (Roll Call) and “a Washington wonk’s dream (The New York Times)—will be in session virtually March...

O villainy! Patrick Page slays in ‘All the Devils Are Here’ from STC

“This rough magic I here abjure.” This phrase, from Prospero’s farewell in The Tempest, is among the most exquisite in Shakespeare. In All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain,...

Patrick Page to bare the Bard’s bad guys, onstage at Shakespeare Theatre Company

Shakespeare Theatre Company’s first-ever online-only production, All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain, a performance written by and starring STC Affiliated Artist Patrick...

Theater wonks and gamers connect with a new ‘Twist’

Theater professionals from New York City, Kentucky, and DC have come together to launch ​Twist, a new virtual experience centered around a rotating series of social strategy games. ​Following a...

Shakespeare Theatre Company plots next season with new twists

The lineup for Shakespeare Theater Company‘s 2020–2021 season—as announced by Artistic Director Simon Godwin and Executive Director Chris Jennings—is signficantly different from plans first announced...

Remembering Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, by Edward Gero

“And though she be but little, she is fierce.” ~W. Shakespeare She was a giant. Borrowing from what was said at Lincoln’s passing, “Now, [s]he belongs to the ages.” Along with her victories for women...

Pols and players perk up ‘Will on the Hill’ for Shakespeare Theatre Company

For one brief shining moment, there was bipartisanship in Washington. It occurred with the 2020 online edition of STC’s 18th annual Will on the Hill, broadcast on Monday, September 14, 2020. The...

A bipartisan romance casts a play on both houses in ‘Will on the Hill’ at STC

Who says a theater performance can’t make a difference in politics? With all the ongoing political and cultural conflict, is there a way to simmer things down for at least one brief shining moment....

Whitney White and Soyica Colbert join Shakespeare Theatre Company

Shakespeare Theatre Company Artistic Director Simon Godwin has announced that Whitney White and Soyica Colbert—the director and the dramaturg for The Amen Corner—are joining STC as associate...

New season of ‘Shakespeare Hour LIVE’ returns in September

Shakespeare Theatre Company will continue its online program Shakespeare Hour LIVE! in September with episodes devoted to Shakespeare and the Law (September 9), Shakespeare & Film (September 16),...

National Theatre of London streams an epic ‘Antony and Cleopatra’

As we ease into an impromptu season of watching live theater captured on video, it’s helpful to remember that there are challenges of scale. This is especially true in the case of webcasts from the...

Shakespeare Theatre Company hosts ‘Twelfth Night’ viewing party

Shakespeare Theatre Company invites audiences to celebrate William Shakespeare’s birthday by attending a viewing party of the National Theatre of London’s 2017 production of Twelfth Night on Thursday,...

Shakespeare Theatre stages a stunning ‘Timon of Athens’ for modern audiences

Among Shakespeare’s plays are a special few whose relevance waxes and wanes with the times. They disappear from the stage for years, only to re-emerge when they are ready to speak to our issues, our...

All the world’s on stage as Shakespeare Theatre Company announces 35th anniversary season

Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Artistic Director Simon Godwin announced the Company’s 2020/21 Season to a gathering of dedicated theatergoers at the Michael R. Klein Theatre at the Lansburgh on...

Shakespeare Theatre Company rescues James Baldwin’s ‘Amen Corner’ from the vault

In May 1955, when Howard University staged James Baldwin’s play, The Amen Corner, Washington Post reviewer Richard L. Coe deemed it a “fine play that merits not only your attention but also future...

Matthew M. Nielson on bringing Shakespeare’s ‘Merry Wives of Windsor’ into the 1970s through original music and sound design

Bright and jaunty as a hippie’s tie-dyed shirt, the opening musical number for Folger’s The Merry Wives of Windsor lets the audience know what’s in store. It’s a farce set long ago–well, 1972, to be...

Top five theater ghosts…before ‘The Woman in Black’ arrived at Shakespeare Theatre Company

The Woman in Black, the long-playing London ghost story now perturbing a Shakespeare Theatre Company stage, reminds us that spine-chilling horror can be the most delightful of sensations. To put us in...

Isabella Star LaBlanc, who plays Tiger Lily in ‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company, on why Native stories matter

When Playwright Lauren Gunderson took on the challenge of adapting J. M. Barrie’s 1904 Peter Pan, she knew she had to fix what she has called the “deeply harmful misrepresentation of Indigenous people...

‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ at Shakespeare wows with wonder in a woke dream

J. M. Barrie imagined a lot when he wrote his 1904 play about the boy who wouldn’t grow up, but he could not have imagined how many childhoods have been etched by its enchantment. Now in Peter Pan and...

‘The Woman in Black’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company is a delightfully spooky gem

A charming little gem of a ghostly, campfire-ish thriller is here for a short time courtesy of Shakespeare Theatre Company. Full of expressive acting, whodunit lighting moods and suspense-making...

Playwright Lauren Gunderson had one stipulation when reworking ‘Peter Pan.’ The sexism and racism had to go.

When Gunderson agreed to rework ‘Peter Pan’ for Shakespeare Theatre Company, she had one stipulation: the sexism and racism had to go.

Stage managers work long hours for rich rewards

Being a stage manager of a theater production brings challenging, yet too often unheralded responsibilities that begin long before an audience steps into a theater to take a seat. As the production...

Shakespeare Theatre Company renames the Lansburgh Theatre

At its annual Gala, Shakespeare Theatre Company announced to a surprised audience that the Lansburgh Theatre at 450 7th St. NW would be rechristened as the Michael R. Klein Theatre. In addition to the...

Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Simon Godwin on conscience in ‘Everybody’ and himself

On the day after opening night of Everybody, the first show in Simon Godwin’s much-heralded first season as artistic director of Shakespeare Theatre Company, I visited him in his office to ask him...

Shakespeare Theater Company’s ‘Everybody’ flirts with death, but falls short of greatness

There’s really only one thing that all of us – that everybody – has in common. Death, whether we’re ready or not, will come for us. All our failures and triumphs, our relationships and desires, can...

Ed Gero Delivers Stunning Performance as Falstaff in Shakespeare’s ‘Henry IV Part I’ at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre

Henry IV Part I, which opened at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre last week, is superb. (Click here for DCMTA’s review.) This production, starring Ed Gero, is equal to any I’ve seen. In fact, it is...

Review: ‘1 Henry IV’ at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre

1 Henry IV at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre, directed by Rosa Joshi, is perfectly cast and beautifully executed. Edward Gero is a superb Falstaff, and he is surrounded by gifted actors and strikingly...

Shakespeare Theatre Company To Air National Theatre Live’s “Fleabag” as Part of Film Series

Shakespeare Theatre Company is delighted to announce the lineup of three National Theatre Live screenings in anticipation of the 2019/20 Season: FLEABAG, ANTONY & CLEOPATRA, THE LEHMAN TRILOGY, and...

News: ‘The Woman in Black’ by Shakespeare Theatre Company at the Lansburgh Theatre

Shakespeare Theatre Company announced this week that one of London’s most popular and long-running plays will join a season of classical theatre as a special presentation: The Woman in Black at the...

Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting Presents Three Plays in Rep

Where can you find one of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies, most passionate “problem plays,” and most famous tragedies, performed with conviction and flair? At the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy...

Review: ‘Hamlet’ at the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Free for All

Hamlet is the most produced play in the world. It is said that Hamlet is being performed somewhere every single minute of every single day. Now, the Shakespeare Theatre Company is presenting a superb...

Interview: Alec Wild, Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company Academy for Classical Acting at the George Washington University

Soft, behold! This summer DC offers first-rate Shakespeare everyone can enjoy. The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting (ACA) at the George Washington University, starting in...

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Oversees Unanimous Jury Decision About Ancient Greek Crime

On June 24, 2019, the Shakespeare Theatre Company presented its summer Mock Trial at Sidney Harman Hall (610 F Street NW). Guests were invited to hear the appellate case Murder in Mycenae: Did Electra...