Synetic Theater

In Synetic’s ‘Cinderella,’ a fantasy romance with Afro-Latin roots

Any child will love it. But so will any adult.

Synetic Theater’s ‘Madness of Poe’ is deliciously horrific

Neatly combines Poe’s gift for Victorian horror with the brilliance that Synetic is known for.

Free family-friendly theater from Synetic to pop up in parks

Beloved by audiences of all ages, ‘The Miraculous Magical Balloon’ tells of a traveling actor and his trunk full of toys, tricks, and surprises.

Synetic to produce next season both in person and on film

The award-winning physical theater will welcome audiences back to its Crystal City venue while delivering Synetic-curated content to home TVs.

A theater fan tests Synetic’s impressive new streaming service

The award-winning Synetic Theater is known for innovative interpretations of classic stories, most notably for their Wordless Shakespeare adaptations. As theaters pivoted to virtual performances and...

Synetic Theater to produce original art films and stream on custom app

Synetic Theater has announced the launch of a new digital streaming app as well as the creation of a film production arm, Synetic Motion Pictures. The streaming service, dubbed “Synetic Streaming,”...

In Synetic Theater’s ‘Joy,’ two fearless performers get personal

Synetic Theater is renowned for its lively, “silent,” physical-movement–oriented productions of classic theatrical works propelled by original music. Now, with precautions necessary to combat the...

Update: Synetic Theater’s wonderfully inventive ‘Decameron’ is now all online

With all videos in The Decameron available through July, Amy Kotkin completes her original review with yellow-highlighted additions below. History always has lessons to teach during times of enormous...

Synetic Theater’s much-anticipated ‘The Decameron’ is now online

Paused a month ago out of respect for Black Lives Matter protests, Synetic Theatre’s much-anticipated original series The Decameron is back on the virtual boards. Each day through the end of July,...

Hexagon’s ‘One State Two State Red State Blue State’: A chuckle for a good cause

News got you nervous? Quaking over coronavirus? Morose about the stock market? Fed up with the Fed? Sick of the swamp? And yet, do you fear if you take your mind off it all for a second, things might...

Synetic Theater delivers visually stunning, ballet-driven adaptation of ‘Phantom of the Opera’

As Synetic Theater races through its rowdy teenage years (not quite 20, yet), they have earned a reputation for finely-honed narrative dance, brilliant original music, and spectacular visual effects....

Synetic Theater’s ‘The Snow Queen’ sparkles

The lights reveal a figurine on a pedestal—regal, decked head to foot, shimmering, amid the mist. Slowly, cautiously, with a twitch here and a jerk there, that figurine—the Snow Queen—comes to life....

Review: ‘The Tempest’ at Synetic Theater

What an inspired creative jewel. What a brave new world. What a daring technical and artistic production. That is Synetic’s The Tempest; Shakespeare’s tale of shipwreck and magic, power grab and...

Review: ‘Treasure Island’ at Synetic Theater

If you’re a fan of swashbuckling pirate tales, you’ll love Synetic Theater’s charming and atmospheric spin on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic Treasure Island. Directed by Tori Toletino and adapted by...

Vocalists Add a Narrative Twist to Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Volta’

Cirque du Soleil’s Volta is a rush of energy and hand-over-mouth gulps of emotions. Currently decamped in Fairfax County, a quick saunter from the raised Metro Silver Line station at Tysons II, Volta...

Post-Play Palaver: ‘Second Body’ at Synetic Theatre

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...

In the Moment: ‘Richard iii’ at Synetic Theater

Synetic Theater’s Richard iii is a potent conspiratorial theatrical experience for an anxious age such as ours. It is the ultimate in theatrical paranoia, set in a time out of joint. It’s as if...

Review: ‘Richard iii’ at Synetic Theater

“The future is already here—it’s just not very evenly distributed.” –William Gibson, author of Neuromancer. Synetic Theater, a beloved DC-area institution, has come up with a luxuriantly detailed...

Synetic Theater Announces 2019/20 Season

Synetic Theater is proud to announce their 19th Season, beginning with a remount of the popular, water-filled adaptation of The Tempest September 25 through October 20, 2019. A new family-friendly...

Synetic Theater Hires Jason Najjoum as Managing Director

Synetic Theater is pleased to announce the hiring of Jason Najjoum as Managing Director. Mr. Najjoum comes to Synetic with over a decade of experience in the arts and culture space and valuable...

Synetic Theater’s Vato Tsikurishvili on ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ and the Nature of Time

Impressed with his debut as a director for Synetic’s touching Cyrano de Bergerac, I took the opportunity to interview Synetic Theater’s Vato Tsikurishvili. It was a chance to delve deeper into the...

Review: ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ at Synetic Theater

Edmond Rostand’s tale of a consummate wordsmith achieves profound new eloquence in Synetic Theater’s wordless production of Cyrano de Bergerac. As they have done in so many previous productions, from...

Review: ‘My Father’s Dragon’ at Synetic Theater

Synetic Theater produces another visually captivating and emotion-filled journey in their newest show, My Father’s Dragon. The story, adapted by Ryan Sellers, is based on the children’s book of the...

Review: ‘Sleepy Hollow’ at Synetic Theater

It is officially Fall and nothing says Halloween season like Washington Irving’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Synetic Theater has taken this American horror classic and adapted the story into their own...

In the Moment: ‘Sleepy Hollow’ at Synetic Theater

As if inspired by Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness or even Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, Synetic’s highly original production of Sleepy Hollow, performed without dialogue, is an adult...

Review: ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ at Synetic Theater

Synetic Theater’s admirable, family-friendly production of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) is the premiere mainstage production of Synetic’s New Voice Series. For those familiar with...

Synetic’s New Voice Series production of ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’

With the announcement of its New Voice Series, Synetic Theater is taking its own unique approach to the development of the richly talented pool of emerging theater-makers and budding theater...

In the Moment: Interview with Emily Whitworth, Synetic Theater’s ‘Titus Andronicus’ Adaptor

Synetic Theater’s marvels of silent Shakespeare begin with a superstructure; the adaptation of one of The Bard’s works and his words into audacious silences of the human voice. Over the years those of...

Review: ‘Titus Andronicus’ at Synetic Theater

“A work of art has value only if tremors of the future run through it…” — André Breton (1896–1966) French writer, poet, and founder of Surrealism. Artistic Director Paata Tsikurishvili likened...

Magic Time!: ‘The Trial’ at Synetic Theater

Kafka’s nightmare novel about a man named Joseph K—who is arrested, detained, and tried but never told what he has done wrong—would seem perfect for Synetic Theater’s magic touch. A promising...

Review: ‘The Trial’ at Synetic Theater

The creative, resourceful folk from Synetic Theater have made another date with an old friend and literary powerhouse, well beyond the “silent” Shakespeare for which it is justly known. The author is...

Diverse City: Interview with Artistic Director and Activist Elena Velasco

Welcome to the very first Diverse City column on DC Theater Arts. My name is Darby DeJarnette and I created this column to highlight, through interviews, the different experiences of individuals from...

Review: ‘Hansel and Gretel’ at Synetic Theater

Synetic Theater presents a imaginative re-telling of a beloved classic with their wordless production of Hansel and Gretel. Directed and choreographed by co-adaptors Tori Bertocci and Elena Velasco,...

Review: ‘The Adventures of Peter Pan’ at Synetic Theater

I have to admit something: this was my first Synetic Theater production. I assure you, however, it will not be my last. I had read about Synetic’s wordless Shakespeare shows and heard rapturous...

Review: ‘The Mark of Cain’ at Synetic Theater

Fans of Synetic Theater’s music-and movement-based works derived from classic texts will find a surprise twist in the company’s latest offering. Typically, a Synetic extravaganza creates a vivid other...

Review: ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ at Synetic Theater

Haunting is the word that quickly came to mind as I sat, mesmerized, rediscovering a classic of literature I thought I knew from reading print on a page and from the movies. But, oh my, Synetic...

Spine: ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ at Synetic Theater

The spectacle of movement has always been Synetic’s star attraction. When those primal, emotional moments fuse with a strong narrative throughline, Synetic’s brilliance shines brightest. Their newest...

Review: ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ at Synetic Theater

Synetic’s The Taming of the Shrew is disarming, decadent, and a great visual rush. It is also great, dialogue-free storytelling with its own edge and outlook. The Synetic production simply cast a...

Spine: Pointless Theatre’s ‘King Ubu’—No, That’s Not Donald Trump You See Sitting on That Crapper

Ironically, and full of unintended consequences, while watching Pointless Theatre’s production of Alfred Jarry’s King Ubu (yes, that’s who wrote this play, translated afresh by Google), I couldn’t...

Review: ‘King Ubu’ at Pointless Theatre Company

The season of giving? Joy to the world, peace on earth, and goodwill towards men? By the time the first snowflake actually falls, the holiday schmaltz can be as cloying as the Macy’s fragrance...

In the Moment: ‘Sleeping Beauty’ at Synetic Theater

Sleeping Beauty, Synetic Theater’s new dialogue-free production, is gorgeous, entertaining, and illuminating. This Sleeping Beauty is more than a fanciful, “white bread, white washed” Disney-like take...

Review: ‘Sleeping Beauty’ at Synetic Theater

Briar Rose. Brunhilde. Talia. Rosamond. Aurora. Over the centuries Sleeping Beauty has been known by many names, but the long abiding folk tale of good conquering evil and love conquering all, has...

Review: The NSO Pops: ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’: Film with Live Music at The Kennedy Center

The most significant difference between entering your neighborhood cinema to catch the latest PG film offering and traversing the Hall of Nations to enter the Grand Foyer at The Kennedy Center in...

In the Moment: Synetic Theater’s ‘Dante’s Inferno’

The roaring wordless “silence” of Synetic’s remount of Dante’s Inferno is potent; it will swiftly suck you into its ferment depicting what sin might look and feel like if you are in Hell. Don’t brush...

Review: ‘Dante’s Inferno’ at Synetic Theater

Synetic Theatre, which gave Washington a Silent Hamlet, now brings audiences a wordless Dante’s Inferno. And a silent 100 minutes never sounded so good. Created by Paata Tsikurishvili and directed by...

Review: ‘Twelfth Night’ at Synetic Theater

What is Shakespeare without his words? Answer: a rollicking good time! Synetic Theater, known for its dynamic and often wordless productions of Shakespeare and other classics, have another hit on...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview # 28: ‘The Root of All Knowledge’

A Spellbinding New Play by Gabriel S. Hudson Sees Its World Premier in the Capital Fringe Festival this Summer Each year, the Capital Fringe Festival showcases innovative and avant garde artists...

In the Moment: Synetic Theater’s ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’

Synetic Theater’s The Man in the Iron Mask is a good yarn, well told. With the production Synetic continues to expand beyond its original Shakespeare roots and singular “silent” physical theater...

Review: ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’ at Synetic Theater

Synetic is one of the very few theatre companies that pull off “cinematic” well. Without sacrificing the intimacies and excitement of live theatre you often feel like you’re watching an epic movie at...

In the Moment: The Costumes of Synetic Theater’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’

Ah, the importance of the costumes actors wear to set the scene for any stage production: the shapes, colors, textures. How the fabric flows, drapes, curves or hugs fast to an actor’s frame. Does the...