OPENING: North American Premiere of Critically Acclaimed New Musical SIX at Chicago Shakespeare Theater May 14–June 30

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces
 North American premiere cast of

 critically acclaimed new musical 

SIX,

by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss
May 14–June 30

The Queens of Chicago Shakespeare’s North American premiere production of SIX, written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss and directed by Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage, presented in The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, May 14–June 30, 2019. Pictured: Andrea Macasaet (Boleyn), Brittney Mack (Cleves), Anna Uzele (Parr), Abby Mueller (Seymour), Samantha Pauly (Howard), and Adrianna Hicks (Aragon). Photo by Jeff Sciortino.

The six wives of King Henry VIII headline 
electrifying pop-concert musical in The Yard at 
Chicago Shakespeare

Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces the Queens of the critically acclaimed new musical SIX, written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, which makes its North American premiere in The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, May 14–June 30, 2019. The six wives of King Henry VIII headline an electrifying pop-concert spectacle—flipping the narrative on the one-sided story from our history books. After its runaway debut at Edinburgh Festival Fringe and a sold-out UK tour, the musical phenomenon is now taking London by storm with an open-ended run on the West End, now nominated for five Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical.



Directed by Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage, the Chicago Shakespeare production will feature Adrianna Hicks(Aragon), Andrea Macasaet (Boleyn), Abby Mueller (Seymour), Brittney Mack (Cleves), Samantha Pauly(Howard), and Anna Uzele (Parr). Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert and Mallory Maedke have been cast as the Alternate Queens.

Best remembered by the popular rhyme, "divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived," the Queens now take control of the mic to reclaim their identities beyond the shadow of their infamous spouse—remixing five hundred years of historical heartbreak into an exuberant celebration of twenty-first-century empowerment. Backed by an all-woman band the "Ladies in Waiting," the score traverses the spectrum of modern-day pop with a soundtrack that has charged up the global music charts.

Pictured: Adrianna Hicks (Aragon), Andrea Macasaet (Boleyn), Abby Mueller (Seymour), Brittney Mack (Cleves), Samantha Pauly (Howard), and Anna Uzele (Parr). Photo courtesy of Chicago Shakespeare.

Adrianna Hicks portrays Catherine of Aragon, the tenacious queen leading the way who rebuffs Henry’s attempts to send her to a nunnery with the feminist dance anthem "No Way." Hicks made her Broadway debut in the Tony Award-winning revival of The Color Purple, and went on to star as Celie in the production’s highly acclaimed National Tour. In addition to appearing in Broadway’s Aladdin, she has toured internationally throughout Europe in productions of Sister Act, Legally Blonde, and Dirty Dancing.

Portraying the flirty and fun-loving Anne Boleyn with her cheeky pop melody "Don’t Lose Ur Head" is Andrea Macasaet. A graduate of the prestigious Canadian College of Performing Arts, Macasaet has been seen frequently onstage at the Winnipeg Studio Theatre in memorable roles, including Heather Duke in Heathers the Musical, Christmas Eve in Avenue Q, and Marcy Park in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. She also starred as Kim in the Victoria Operatic Society’s production of Miss Saigon.

As the soulful Jane Seymour—"the only one he truly loved"—with the heart-wrenching torch song "Heart of Stone" is Abby Mueller. Direct from starring in the Broadway and original National Tour productions of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and Broadway’s Kinky Boots, Mueller returns to Chicago Shakespeare, where she notably appeared in the world premiere musical The Three Musketeers. Her off-Broadway credits include the developmental workshop performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock at Gramercy Theatre, and A Minister’s Wife at Lincoln Center Theater.

Brittney Mack is the hip-hop powerhouse Anna of Cleves who, after being rejected because of the King’s unrealistic beauty standards, reaps the spoils of her newfound liberation in "Get Down." A native of Chicago’s South Side, Mack is a veteran of the National Tour of Memphis and the off-Broadway production Black Nativity Now. She has also appeared as a featured dancer on FOX’s hit series Empire.

Samantha Pauly appears as the feisty Katherine Howard, who nevertheless persists despite a challenging past of being used and abused by men in power in "All You Wanna Do." Memorable Chicago performances include Eva Perón in Evita and Betsy Nolan in Honeymoon in Vegas at Marriott Theatre, as well as Jovie in Elf the Musicaland Amber von Tussle in Hairspray! at Paramount Theatre.

Rounding out the sextet of Queens is the fiercely independent Catherine Parr, portrayed by Anna Uzele—with her show-stopping power anthem, "I Don’t Need Your Love." Uzele recently debuted on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning revival of Once on this Island as Andrea Devereaux. Regionally, she has appeared off Broadway in The Holes in Human Flesh, and in multiple productions with Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma.

Joining the Queens as Alternates, each covering multiple roles, are Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert and Mallory Maedke. Lambert is currently appearing as Crystal in Mercury Theater’s Little Shop of Horrors. She has also performed in Porchlight Theater productions of Memphis and In the Heights, as well as Marriott Theatre’s Seussical. Maedke has been making her mark in musicals on Chicago stages, including most recently in Paramount Theater’s Legally Blonde, The Little Mermaid, Mamma Mia, and Hairspray!, as well as in the Jeff Award-nominated company of Hair at Mercury Theater.

The "Ladies in Waiting" are Julia Schade (Keyboard/Conductor/Assistant Music Director), Kimi Hayes (Guitars), Stacy McMichael (Electric Bass), and Sarah Allen (Drums).





Presented by Chicago Shakespeare Theater by arrangement with Kenny Wax, Global Musicals, George Stiles & Kevin McCollum, SIX boasts an impressive multi-national creative team. Directors Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage and the original creative team are joined by Jeff Award-winning Music Director Roberta Duchak, as well as Assistant Director Megan E. Farley. The Yard is transformed into a rocking pop concert venue by Scenic Designer Emma Bailey, Costume Designer Gabriella Slade, Sound Designer Paul Gatehouse, and Lighting Designer Tim Deiling. The score features orchestrations by Tom Curran and vocal arrangements by Joe Beighton. SIX features original choreography by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, in addition to the work of Associate Choreographer Melody Sinclair.

For more information, visit www.chicagoshakes.com/SIX or follow the Queens’ ascent at #cstSIX on @chicagoshakes.

SIX will be presented in The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, May 14–June 30, 2019. Single tickets ($32–$55) are on sale now. Special discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. For more information, contact Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Box Office at 312.595.5600 or visit the Theater’s website at www.chicagoshakes.com.

CST strives to make its facility and performances accessible to all patrons through its Access Shakespeareprograms. Accessible performances for SIX include:
• ASL Duo-interpretation – Thursday, June 13, 2019 at 7:45 p.m.
• Open-captioning – Thursday, June 20, 2019 at 7:45 p.m.
• Audio-description – Sunday, June 16, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. (optional Touch Tour begins at 1:00 p.m.)

ABOUT CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Barbara Gaines and Executive Director Criss Henderson, Chicago Shakespeare has redefined what a great American Shakespeare theater can be—a company that defies theatrical category. This Regional Tony Award-winning theater’s year-round season features as many as twenty productions and 650 performances—including plays, musicals, world premieres, family programming, and presentations from around the globe. Chicago Shakespeare is the city’s leading presenter of international work, and has toured its own productions across five continents. The Theater’s nationally acclaimed arts in literacy programs support the work of teachers, and bring Shakespeare to life on stage for tens of thousands of students annually. Each summer, the company tours a free professional production to neighborhood parks across Chicago. In 2017 the Theater unveiled The Yard, which, together with the Jentes Family Courtyard Theater and the Thoma Theater Upstairs, positions Chicago Shakespeare as Chicago’s most versatile performing arts center.

Maurice Jones To Play Title Role in Chicago Shakespeare Theater's Hamlet

Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces updated casting for

Hamlet

Maurice Jones steps into title role

Joins company featuring: Karen Aldridge, Timothy Decker, Larry Yando, Sean Allan Krill, Paul Deo, Jr., Rachel Nicks, Mike Nussbaum, Greg Vinkler, Kevin Gudahl, Alex Goodrich, Samuel Taylor, Sarah Chalcroft, and Callie Johnson

Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces that Maurice Jones has stepped into the title role of the Theater’s upcoming production of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, staged by Artistic Director Barbara Gaines, in the Courtyard Theater, April 17–June 9, 2019. 

Most recently appearing on Broadway in The Lifespan of a Fact opposite Daniel Radcliffe, Jones is an accomplished classical performer whose Broadway credits include Saint Joan staged by Tony Award-winner Daniel Sullivan, The Cherry Orchard featuring Diane Lane, Romeo and Juliet starring Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad, and Julius Caesar with Denzel Washington—as well as credits at the Public Theater and Roundabout Theatre Company. The role of Hamlet was originally to be played by Raúl Esparza who had to withdraw from the production due to scheduling conflicts.

Joining Jones in the Hamlet company are Karen Aldridge (Gertrude), Timothy Decker (Claudius), Larry Yando (Polonius), Sean Allan Krill (Horatio), Paul Deo, Jr. (Laertes), Rachel Nicks (Ophelia), Mike Nussbaum (Gravedigger), Greg Vinkler (Gravedigger/Player King), Kevin Gudahl (Osric), Alex Goodrich (Rosencrantz), Samuel Taylor (Guildenstern), Sarah Chalcroft (Voltemand/Player Queen), Callie Johnson (Reynalda), and Drew Shirley (Barnardo), as well as ensemble members Al'Jaleel McGhee and Sam Pearson.

Cast of Hamlet

Celebrated actress Karen Aldridge takes on the role of Gertrude, queen of Denmark. In addition to numerous credits with Goodman Theatre, Writers Theatre, and Chicago Shakespeare, Aldridge originated the role of Tamyra in Tracy Letts’s Pulitzer-Prize-nominated Man from Nebraska at Steppenwolf Theatre, as well as Mrs. Phelps in the Broadway production of Matilda the Musical. She also starred in the international tours of Battlefield and Le Costume, both directed by the legendary Peter Brook. Timothy Decker portrays Hamlet’s uncle and adversary Claudius. Decker has appeared onstage at Chicago Shakespeare, Goodman Theatre, and American Blues Theatre, where he garnered the Jeff Award for his performance in Toys in the Attic. He notably completed a four-year run with 1,600 performances as Sam Philips in Million Dollar Quartet at the Apollo Theatre. In his twenty-fifth Chicago Shakespeare production, Larry Yando performs the role of Polonius. The five-time Jeff Award-winner—named “Best Actor in Chicago” by Chicago Magazine—is a mainstay on Chicago stages, including eleven seasons as Ebenezer Scrooge in the Goodman Theatre’s A Christmas Carol. Veteran of the National Tour of The Lion King, Yando recently concluded a critically acclaimed European tour of Peter Brook’s Battlefield.

Sean Allan Krill portrays Hamlet’s close friend and confidante Horatio. Krill debuted on Broadway as Sam Carmichael in Mamma Mia!, a role which he reprised in the production’s North American tour; additional Broadway credits include On a Clear Day You Can See Forever and Honeymoon in Vegas. He recently appeared in American Repertory Theater’s world premiere production of the Alanis Morrissett musical Jagged Little Pill, which is headed to Broadway in Fall 2019. Appearing as Laertes is Paul Deo, Jr., who has previously performed in the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park production of Troilus and Cressida, as well as Shakespeare Theater Company’s Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet. Rachel Nicks takes on the role of Ophelia. Nicks has appeared Off-Broadway in Final Follies, War, And I and Silence, and The Good Negro, as well as in productions with McCarter Theatre and The Old Globe.

Portraying the Gravediggers are Mike Nussbaum and Greg Vinkler. A seven-time Jeff Award-winner, Nussbaum’s illustrious career at Chicago Shakespeare has included notable performances in Henry VIII, Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, and Follies. The Sarah Siddons Society honoree starred in Peter Brook’s international touring production of The Cherry Orchard, as well as in the original Broadway productions of David Mamet’s American Buffalo and Glengarry Glen Ross. Now 95 years old, Nussbaum is hailed “the oldest working actor in the United States.” Vinkler has appeared in nearly forty Chicago Shakespeare productions, garnering Jeff Awards for his performances in King Lear, Hamlet, and Twelfth Night. He made his Broadway debut in the 2009 revival of West Side Story, and has appeared regionally with Milwaukee Repertory Theatre and Peninsula Players Theatre, where he also serves as artistic director—and in Chicago with Writers Theatre, Court Theatre and Goodman Theatre. Multiple Jeff Award-winner Kevin Gudahl is Osric. A veteran of more than forty Chicago Shakespeare productions, Gudahl has also appeared onstage at Court Theatre, Goodman Theatre, and Writers Theatre, in addition to five seasons with the Stratford Festival.

As Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Alex Goodrich and Samuel Taylor, respectively. Goodrich has previously appeared on Chicago Shakespeare’s stages in Love’s Labor’s Lost, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Taming of the Shrew. Goodrich frequently appears at Northlight Theatre and Marriott Theatre, where his performance in the world premiere musical Hero earned him a Jeff Award. Taylor returns to Chicago Shakespeare after memorable performances in Macbeth, Henry V, Julius Caesar, The School for Lies, and The Feast: an Intimate Tempest. His numerous Shakespeare credentials include teaching courses on the playwright at the University of Chicago and co-founding the Back Room Shakespeare Project.

Sarah Chalcroft returns to Chicago Shakespeare after appearing in King Charles III to perform the roles of Voltemand and the Player Queen. Playing Reynalda is Callie Johnson, who garnered a Jeff Award for her performance in Porchlight Music Theatre’s Pal Joey and has also appeared at Drury Lane Theatre and Marriott Theatre.

As a leading director of Shakespeare internationally renowned for her populist and dynamic interpretations, Barbara Gaines has staged more than sixty productions at Chicago Shakespeare throughout her distinguished career, garnering the prestigious Honorary OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) and Joseph Jefferson Awards for Best Production (Hamlet, Cymbeline, King Lear, and The Comedy of Errors), and for Best Director (Cymbeline, King Lear and The Comedy of Errors). Joining Gaines on the Hamlet creative team are Scenic Designer Scott Davis, Costume Designer Susan E. Mickey, Lighting Designer Robert Wierzel, Sound Designer Lindsay Jones, Projection Designer Mike Tutaj, Wig and Make-up Designer Richard Jarvie, and Fight Choreographer Matt Hawkins. Tyrone Phillips is the production’s Associate Director.

For more information, visit www.chicagoshakes.com/hamlet.

Hamlet is presented in Chicago Shakespeare’s Courtyard Theater, April 17–June 9, 2019. Single tickets ($48–$88) are on sale now. Special discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Box Office at 312.595.5600 or visit the Theater’s website at www.chicagoshakes.com.

Chicago Shakespeare strives to make its facility and performances accessible to all patrons through its Access Shakespeare programs. Accessible performances for Hamlet include:

Audio-description – Sunday, May 19, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. with optional touch tour at 12:00 p.m.

ASL Duo-interpretation – Friday, May 31, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.
Open-captioning – Thursday, June 6, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.


ABOUT CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Barbara Gaines and Executive Director Criss Henderson, Chicago Shakespeare has redefined what a great American Shakespeare theater can be—a company that defies theatrical category. This Regional Tony Award-winning theater’s year-round season features as many as twenty productions and 650 performances—including plays, musicals, world premieres, family programming, and presentations from around the globe. Chicago Shakespeare is the city’s leading producer of international work, and has toured its own productions across five continents. The Theater’s nationally acclaimed arts in literacy programs support the work of teachers, and bring Shakespeare to life on stage for tens of thousands of students annually. Each summer, the company tours a free professional production to neighborhood parks across Chicago. In 2017 the Theater unveiled The Yard, which, together with the Jentes Family Courtyard Theater and the Thoma Theater Upstairs, positions Chicago Shakespeare as Chicago’s most versatile performing arts center.

OPENING: The National Theatre of Great Britain’s An Inspector Calls To Play Chicago Shakespeare Theater's The Yard Through March 10, 2019

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents 

the National Theatre of Great Britain’s landmark production

of JB Priestley’s classic thriller

AN INSPECTOR CALLS

Staged by Stephen Daldry (The Crown, Billy Elliot)

Limited engagement in The Yard

February 19–March 10, 2019

I'll be out February 20th for the press opening, so check back soon for my full review.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents the National Theatre of Great Britain’s award-winning production of JB Priestley’s classic thriller An Inspector Calls, hailed by the Evening Standard as “an epic for our epoch, a thrillingly physical piece of theatre—with the power to stir the heart as much as the mind.” The production is staged by Stephen Daldry, whose extraordinary career spans genres from the hit Netflix series The Crown; to films, with Oscar-nominated pictures like The Reader, The Hours, Billy Elliot, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close; to the stage, where his Billy Elliot the Musical was honored with ten Tony Awards, and his current production of The Inheritance is enjoying an acclaimed run in London’s West End.

An Inspector Calls is featured in a special limited engagement in The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, February 19–March 10, 2019.

Winner of 19 major accolades, including multiple Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, and Critics Circle Awards, this international touring production of An Inspector Calls is the longest running revival of a play in history—now seen by more than 4 million theatregoers worldwide. This suspenseful masterpiece begins when the mysterious Inspector Goole calls unexpectedly on the prosperous Birling home, shattering their peaceful family dinner party with his investigation into the death of a young woman. Revelations shake the foundations of the family’s lives, prompting an examination of their consciences.

The Washington Post called it, “elegant…an evening of many dark and twisting delights.” The Guardian hailed it, “spine-tingling. Lushly operatic, yet hard as steel—grabs you by the throat and won't let you go” and The Telegraph raved, “there’ll never be a better production… always speaks to the changing political moment.”

Artistic Director Barbara Gaines shared, “We’re elated to share Stephen Daldry’s award-winning production with Chicago. The larger-than-life scale of this thriller will have audiences on the edges of their seats—and you’ll see why they call it the ‘theatrical event of a generation’ in the UK. Simply no one does this work better than Stephen Daldry.”

The company features Liam Brennan (Inspector Goole), Christine Kavanagh (Sybil Birling), Jeff Harmer (Arthur Birling), Lianne Harvey (Sheila Birling), Hamish Riddle (Eric Birling), Andrew Macklin (Gerald Croft), and Diana Payne-Myers (Edna). Rounding out the ensemble are Chris Barritt, Adam Collier, Chloe Orrock, and Beth Tuckey.

The creative team for An Inspector Calls creative team includes Associate Director Julian Webber, Tony Award-winning Scenic and Costume Designer Ian MacNeill, two-time Olivier and Tony Award-winning Lighting Designer Rick Fisher, and Composer Stephen Warbeck—who notably garnered an Academy Award for his original score for Shakespeare in Love.

For more information, visit www.chicagoshakes.com/inspector.

An Inspector Calls will be presented in The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, February 19–March 10, 2019. Single tickets ($46–$88) are on sale now. Special discounts will be available for groups of 10 or more. For more information, contact Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Box Office at 312.595.5600 or visit the Theater’s website at www.chicagoshakes.com.

ABOUT STEPHEN DALDRY
Stephen Daldry (Director), lauded for his work as director and producer of film, theater, and television, is Executive Producer and Director on the highly acclaimed Netflix series The Crown. He directed The Inheritance by Matthew Lopez to critical acclaim and a sell-out run at the Young Vic Theatre; it transferred to the Noel Coward Theatre this fall and will premiere next year on Broadway. Currently, Daldry’s coproduction, with director Justin Martin, of The Jungle by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson is playing to huge acclaim at the Playhouse Theatre after its highly successful run at the Young Vic Theatre and will have its American premiere this month at St Ann’s Warehouse in New York. He was Creative Executive Producer of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. He has also directed at the National Theatre, the Public Theatre in New York and transferred many productions both to Broadway and the West End, including his award-winning 1992 National Theatre production of An Inspector Calls. Billy Elliot the Musical opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre in 2005 where it ran for 11 years. It has also played on Broadway, in Holland, Seoul, Sydney, Melbourne, Chicago, Toronto, Tokyo and across the US. In 2009, the production won ten Tony awards, including Best Musical, more than any other British show in Broadway history. It recently completed an 18 month tour of the UK and Ireland, finishing its highly successful run in Hamburg. Daldry directed The Audience and Skylight to critical acclaim both in London and on Broadway with Skylight winning a Tony award for Best Revival. His first four films, Billy Elliot, The Hours, The Reader and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, together received 19 Academy Award® nominations and two wins. His film, Trash, set in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, was nominated for Best Film Not in the English Language at the 2015 BAFTAs. He also directed for BBC Radio and Television. He is Co-Director of Pier 55 in New York and also on the Board of The Perelman Arts Center at the World Trade Center, Ground Zero, New York. Daldry started his career at the Sheffield Crucible Theatre and directed extensively in Britain’s regional theaters. In London he was Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre and the Royal Court Theatre where he headed the £26 million redevelopment.

CAST
Liam Brennan (Inspector Goole) THEATRE: Richard III, Twelfth Night (Shakespeare’s Globe/The Apollo Theatre/Belasco Theatre, New York); Measure for Measure, Edward II, Richard II, Twelfth Night, Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe); Union, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, A View From The Bridge, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, The Winter’s Tale, The Merchant Of Venice, Othello, Anna Karenina, Montrose, The Gowk Storm, The Taming Of The Shrew, Hobson’s Choice, Mary Rose, Mr. Bolfry, Trivial Pursuits, Loot (all Royal Lyceum Edinburgh); Macbeth (Royal Lyceum/Nottingham Playhouse); Tom Fool (Glasgow Citizens Theatre/Bush Theatre); Stranger Babies, The Found Man, Men in White Suits, Things We Do for Love, The Speculator, Family, King Lear, Knives in Hens, Wormwood (Traverse Theatre); Babycakes (Clyde Unity/Drill Hall); The Merchant of Venice (Sheffield Crucible); Rumplestiltskin (Cumbernauld Theatre), Twelfth Night (Salisbury Playhouse/China Tour). TELEVISION: Shetland, Swine Fever, High Road, Machair, Bad Boys, Taggart and Strathblair II. FILM: No Man’s Land, Feet Steps and Gas Attack. Radio Includes: Cloud Howe, Take Me to Necropolis, Red and Blue, The True Story of Bonnie Parker, Sullom Voe, Down and Out in Auchnakinnan, Piper Alpha, Much Ado About Nothing, La Princesse De Cleves, Of Mice and Men, Macbeth, Rob Roy and Master Of Ballantrae. Liam won the 2006 CATS Award for Best Actor for his performance in Tales From Hollywood (Perth Theatre).

Jeff Harmer (Arthur Birling) THEATRE: Berrard in the National tour of Bird Song Fox on The Fairway, Out Of Order, Donkey’s Years, Romeo & Juliet, As You Like It, Funny Money (Vienna’s English Theatre), Made in Dagenham (Hornchurch), Sweet Charity (New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich), I Dreamed A Dream (National Tour), The Witches of Eastwick (Watermill Theatre), Aladdin (Alhambra Theatre), Buddy (Channel Islands), Othello, Richard III (Ludlow Festival), Privates on Parade (West Yorkshire Playhouse & Birmingham Rep), Mamma Mia! (International Tour), The Hot Mikado (Watermill Theatre Newbury and National Tour), Dick Whittington, The Comedy of Errors (Northcott Theatre, Exeter), The Rivals, The Blue, A Christmas Carol (Swan Theatre Worcester) The Roy Orbison Story (Bill Kenwright National Tour), Return to the Forbidden Planet, Chicago (Frankfurt), Vanity Fair (Sherman Theatre), The Comedy of Errors (National Tour), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dracula, The Wind in the Willows (Liverpool Playhouse) Stagestruck (Grand Swansea), Du lac Eurydice (Whitehall Theatre), The Forsyte Saga (National Tour).TELEVISION AND FILM: Diana Her True Story (NBC), A Life (CH4), Poirot, The Bill, Family Affairs (CH5), Westbeach (BBC), Kidnap & Ransom (ITV), The Runaway (SKYTV), The Italian Consul (Film Italia), Saplings (BBC Radio 4), Gilbert Without Sullivan (BBC Radio 4). TRAINING: The Webber Douglas Academy.

Lianne Harvey (Sheila Birling) THEATRE: Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (U.K. and International tour), Relatively Speaking (Oldham Coliseum, Harrogate Theatre), The Railway Children and Trials of Mary (Eastern Angles), Heartbreak House (Union Theatre), Enveloped in Velvet (Arts Theatre), The Daughter in Law, Mercury Fur, The Witch of Edmonton (Whilst at RADA).TELEVISION: Not Safe for Work (Channel 4). FILM: The female lead in 2017 feature film Bikini Blue (for multi Academy Award-nominated Studio Filmowe Zebra, Warsaw). TRAINING: The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Christine Kavanagh (Sybil Birling) THEATRE: Hedda Gabler (National Theatre U.K. tour), Man and Superman (National Theatre), The Importance of Being Earnest (Harold Pinter Theatre), Albert Speer (National Theatre), The Liar (Old Vic), The Rehearsal (Almeida and Garrick), Basket Case (Northampton Royal Derngate), A Doll’s House (Lyric, Belfast), Macbeth (RSC), Hamlet (Nottingham Playhouse), All My Sons (Redgrave Theatre), The Revengers Comedies (Scarborough), Last Easter (Birmingham Rep), Much Ado About Nothing (RSC), She Stoops to Conquer (Oxford Playhouse), Travesties (Oxford Playhouse), The Rivals (York Theatre Royal).TELEVISION: Vera (ITV), Titanic (ITV), Room with a View (ITV), A Very British Coup (Skreba Films), The Blackheath Poisonings (Central Films), Catherine Cookson/The Glass Virgin (Festival film and ITV), Chimera (Zenith Films), Drop the Dead Donkey (Hat Trick/Channel 4), Frank Stubbs (Noel Gay TV), In His Life the John Lennon Story (NBC), Inspector Lynley (BBC), Inspector Morse (Channel 4), Island Gardens (BBC), Doctors (BBC), Jonathan Creek (BBC), Manchild (BBC), Minder (Thames TV), Ruth Rendell Mysteries – May and June, Ruth Rendell Mysteries – No crying he makes (TVS), Seaforth (BBC), Sleeper (BBC), The Bretts (Central TV), Return of Sherlock Holmes (Tiger Aspect), Agony Too (BBC), Material Girl (Carnival Films), The Saint (D L Taffner), Doctor Who (BBC), The Sleeper, Underbelly (BBC Initial films). FILM: Man and Superman NT Live (National Theatre). RADIO: Home Front, I Claudius, and Charles Paris for BBC radio four, member of the BBC radio drama company, and she narrates audio books.

Andrew Macklin (Gerald Croft) THEATRE: The Baleful Lie (Tristan Bates Theatre), Jane Wenham: The Witch of Walkern (Out of Joint/Watford Palace/Arcola Theatre/Tour), The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Curve Theatre), Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me (Chipping Norton Theatre), The Mercy Seat (York Theatre Royal), King Lear, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Three Sisters (Abbey Theatre), The Only True History of Lizzie Finn (Southwark Playhouse), Brighton (Garter Lane Arts Centre), The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Watford Palace), I’ll be the Devil (RSC/Tricycle), All Over Town, The Irish Curse (Project Theatre, Dublin), 24 Hour Plays: Lucy’s Brief Guide to Being Human (Old Vic), Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk (Salisbury Playhouse), The Cure at Troy (Floodtide Theatre Company), Much Ado About Nothing (Bath Theatre Royal), Don’t Look Back (dreamthinkspeak), Markings (Attic Theatre Company), A Passionate Woman (Mill at Sonning). TV: Jubilee Nurse, Mr. Selfridge, Fair City.

Diana Payne-Myers (Edna) was a dancer at Ballet Rambert at the Mercury Theatre, Notting Hill Gate, 1948. She has most recently worked in Scotland with Barrowland Ballet (Natasha Gilmore’s Glasgow based company) in A Conversation with Carmel 2013 (co-produced by Scottish Arts & Stratford East) at the Tramway Theatre, Glasgow; Stratford East, London & 2 Scotland tours concluding the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2011. Other recent credits include: Further work with Matthew Hawkins at Edinburgh Festival (2007), Red Ladies (2014) at the Southbank Centre, Malvern & Margate, God’s Garden with Arthur Pita – created and presented in Ipswich followed by performances in Birmingham & later with a company at the Royal Opera House, London. Diana has also performed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics Arts Festival with DV8 Physical Theatre company piece Can we afford this? The cost of living (Everest Theatre, Sydney). It later toured to London and Hong Kong. Other work with DV8 includes Strange Fish (European tour) and Bound to Please which toured Europe 1999-2000. Diana returns to the role of Edna having performed in An Inspector Calls at the Garrick Theatre, the Aldwich Theatre, two UK tours & the Australia tour.

Hamish Riddle (Eric Birling). Prior to training he was a member of the National Youth Theatre Rep Company. THEATRE: Manning (The Arches/Encounter Festival/Brno), Tory Boyz, Prince Of Denmark, Romeo And Juliet, Pope Joan, Black And White, As You Like It (N.Y.T.) and Prince Of Denmark (National Theatre). Theatre whilst training includes: 13, The Country Wife, Merchant of Venice and The Seagull (all for R.C.S.) Hamish also took part in the London 2012 Olympics Welcoming Ceremony as part of the N.Y.T. TRAINING: The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

CREATIVE TEAM
Tony-Award winning Set and Costume Designer Ian MacNeil’s work includes Billy Elliot the Musical in the West End, Australia on Broadway (Tony Award - Best Designer); Albert Speer, Machinal (Critic’s Circle Award-winner) and An Inspector Calls (also West End and International; Olivier and Critic’s Circle Awards-winner) at the National; Far Away, Via Dolorosa (also on Broadway and the West End), This is a Chair, Death and the Maiden (also West End), Plasticine (Evening Standard Award-winner Best Designer) and A Number for the Royal Court; Afore Night Come (the Young Vic); The Ingolstadt Plays, Figaro Gets Divorced and Jerker at the Gate; Enter Achilles and Bound to Please for DV8; and Festen (The Almeida – also West End and Broadway; Evening Standard Award- winner, Best Designer). Recent designs include Vernon God Little and A Doll’s House at the Young Vic and Brooklyn Academy of Music; In Basildon at the Royal Court; Desire Under the Elms at the Lyric Hammersmith; The Amen Corner at the National Theatre; Betrayal on Broadway; Birdland at the Royal Court, and Everyman at the National.

Lighting Designer Rick Fisher is the winner of two Olivier Awards for Best Lighting Design and two Tony and Drama Desk Awards for An Inspector Calls and Billy Elliot the Musical (Broadway). He first lit this production of An Inspector Calls in York in 1990 and then again at the National Theatre in 1992. THEATRE: Peter Pan (Regent’s Park); The Audience (with Helen Mirren in London and Broadway, and subsequently with Kristin Scott Thomas in London); The Merchant of Venice (Almeida Theatre / RSC); Sunny Afternoon (Hampstead / West End); Porgy and Bess (Regent’s Park); Billy Elliot (West End / Australia / Broadway / US Tour / Holland); Brigit & Bailegangaire (Druid Theatre, Galway); The Merchant of Venice, Othello, Twelfth Night (Singapore); Judas Kiss (Duke of York’s); Chariots of Fire (Gielgud), Richard III (RSC); Tribes (Royal Court); An Inspector Calls (West End/Broadway); Betrayal, Old Times (Donmar); Jerry Springer the Opera, Blue/Orange (National Theatre/West End). MUSICAL AND OPERA: Daughter of the Regiment, Rigoletto, Salome (Santa Fe Opera); Sweeney Todd (Houston Grand Opera); Oscar (Philadelphia); Falstaff (Japan & Los Angeles); The King and I, Sweeney Todd (Chatelet, Paris); The Sound of Music (Buenos Aires); The Tsarina’s Slippers (Royal Opera House); Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail , Maometto II (Garsington); La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein (Santa Fe). DANCE: Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake (London / Los Angeles / Broadway / World Tour).

Academy Award-winning Composer Stephen Warbeck began studying piano and composing at the age of four. After eight years of working as a composer and performer for the stage Stephen began writing music for film and television and has since built up considerable filmography credits. He has written music for more than 40 television projects and has received five BAFTA nominations and in 2013 a BAFTA Award for his work on Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2. Other recent television projects include Indian Summers and first two series of A Young Doctor’s Notebook. Stephen has scored many feature films including: Mon Roi, Seve, Polisse, Proof, Mrs. Brown, Mystery Men, Quills, Billy Elliot, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Birthday Girl and Shakespeare in Love, for which he won an Academy Award. His other notable stage productions include: the Globe’s Richard II, the Donmar’s Temple, the RSC’s Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies; the Royal Court’s The River and Jerusalem (both West End and Broadway transfers) and The Seagull; The National Theatre’s The Red Lion, The Silver Tassie, This House, The Veil; John Madden’s Proof, Sam Mendes’ To The Green Fields Beyond; Old Times and Betrayal at the Harold Pinter Theatre and many productions for Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, The Almeida and West End theatres. In addition to composing for film and television, Stephen has written music for numerous radio plays and written several concert pieces. Peter Pan is his first ballet score.

Associate Director Julian Webber adapted and directed The Three Musketeers at the Young Vic Theatre, which was nominated for a Barclay’s Theatre Award in 2002; more recently, the West End revival of The Shape of Things by Neil Labute, and The Barber of Seville at the Bristol Old Vic in a new adaptation by Lee Hall. For eight years Julian was Artistic Director of Soho Rep, New York and is currently Associate Director for Billy Elliot the Musical, for which he won a Helpmann Award for the production in Sydney, Australia, and last year, mounted in Holland.

ABOUT CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Barbara Gaines and Executive Director Criss Henderson, Chicago Shakespeare has redefined what a great American Shakespeare theater can be—a company that defies theatrical category. This Regional Tony Award-winning theater’s year-round season features as many as twenty productions and 650 performances—including plays, musicals, world premieres, family programming, and presentations from around the globe. Chicago Shakespeare is the city’s leading presenter of international work, and has toured its own productions across five continents. The Theater’s nationally acclaimed arts in literacy programs support the work of teachers, and bring Shakespeare to life on stage for tens of thousands of students annually. Each summer, the company tours a free professional production to neighborhood parks across Chicago. In 2017 the Theater unveiled The Yard, which, together with the Jentes Family Courtyard Theater and the Thoma Theater Upstairs, positions Chicago Shakespeare as Chicago’s most versatile performing arts center.

ONTROEREND GOED'S FIGHT NIGHT Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare Through November 4, 2018

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar:

ONTROEREND GOED'S

FIGHT NIGHT

Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare

a WorldStage Production from Belgium

written by Alexander Devriendt, Angelo Tijssens, & the Cast

directed by Alexander Devriendt

**run approximately 80 minutes with no intermission** 

I'll be out to catch Fight Night the 27th, so check back for my full review. I enjoyed the thought provoking launch to this 3 production series from Belgium and can't wait to see what's next. Check out my Big Mouth review and more details on the series here.

THE PLAY
Five candidates. One winner. You decide. Arriving on the brink of our own midterm elections, Belgium’s extraordinary Ontroerend Goed offers a fun and thought-provoking examination of free will and politics that puts electronic voting boxes—and the candidates’ fate—directly into the hands of audience members. As the battle for your attention, sympathy, and approval ensues, what will your snap-judgments reveal? This critically acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe Festival hit explores the nature of democracy, and will leave you with questions to debate and, possibly, your own prejudices to confront.

Fight Night (October 23–November 4, 2018) from collective Ontroerend Goed, which returns to Chicago Shakespeare after A History of Everything in 2012, and the stirring Us/Them (January 22–February 3, 2019) from BRONKS.

A stinging examination of free will and politics staged by company founder and Artistic Director Alexander Devriendt, Fight Night immerses audience members (equipped with electronic voting boxes) in a showdown between five contenders vying for their votes. Employing a dizzying array of tactics and strategies, the candidates compete to survive a relentless succession of eliminations, and ultimately be crowned the elected victor. Blurring the lines between theater and interactive performance art, Fight Night is a hilarious, thought-provoking look at the mechanisms of democracy.

Fight Night is presented as part of a series of three pioneering works that represent the next wave of boundary-pushing International theater—fueling a dynamic engagement between artist and audience.

Fight Night is written and directed by Alexander Devriendt, Angelo Tijssens and the cast. The company includes Aaron Gordon, Abdel Daoudi, Angelo Tijssen, Aurélie Lannoy, Charlotte De Bruyne, and Michai Geyzen. Completing the creative team are Lilith Tremmery (Scenography, Light Design and Production), Babette Poncelet and Iben Stalpaert (Technicians), Sophie De Somere (Costumes and scenography), Cameron Goodall and David Heinrich (Music), and Nick Mattan (Graphics Voting System).

Fight Night is produced by Ontroerend Goed, The Border Project, Richard Jordan Productions, and Theatre Royal Plymouth in association with Big in Belgium.


A Note from the Director
by Alexander Devriendt

Your vote.  So many people fight for it. So many promises are made to obtain it.

And yet it feels so small. Such a tiny contribution. A seemingly insignificant voice muffled by the turmoil of the powers that be. I’ve been all kinds of voters: a frustrated one, one who consciously abstains, one too lazy to go, a fervent one, a social one, a strategical one.

But more and more I became fascinated by the extent to which my choice was manipulated on so many levels, and not just by the politicians themselves or by the media. All sorts of little things in my immediate or faraway surroundings had an impact on my vote.

What it mostly boiled down to is the feeling that made me say: ”I trust this person.” A trust that seemed to be of my own making.

I trusted this one person in Belgian politics. He seemed intelligent and somebody who could represent me in the political field. When he appeared on television he said things that made sense. Whether it was in a game show or political talk show, I can’t remember (the distinction has become blurrier day by day). It’s a feeling I share with many Trump supporters today. You trust your own judgment so well that you rarely question what it’s really based upon.

Then while I was in rehearsals for this show, I took a closer look at the views of this Belgian politician and I was amazed how different our views were on so many levels. How the things I cared about were not even mentioned in his political agenda. I still trust the guy. He is a strong politician. He just doesn’t get my vote anymore.

There is this other person whose agenda I share completely. She doesn’t get enough votes to really matter in Belgian politics, but I believe the votes she does get keep her going. Because my vote matters to her, and she matters to her party, and the party influences decisions in the country, and the country has a say in the European Union. And maybe the powers beyond are kept in check just a little bit more.

A chain of influence that can alter the world. Eight years under Romney would have been a different world; a Canada led by Trudeau resonates even in our country; a referendum in Britain has altered the course of history.

I remember when we performed Fight Night in London, there was this 80-year-old man who started shouting to younger people who were giving up their device, who were giving up their vote. “Don’t do it. People have fought for this!” he shouted.

I’m probably going to be like him.


Later this season, Big in Belgium—Chicago continues with 
Big in Belgium—Chicago is Us/Them—acclaimed as the “unforgettable highlight of the Fringe” by The Telegraph when it debuted in Edinburgh, followed by a sold-out run at the National Theatre of Great Britain. Told through the viewpoint of two children, the production is a chilling look at the 2004 Beslan school siege by Chechen separatists in Russia, in which more than 1,100 adults and children were taken hostage and 334 lost their lives. Using intricate choreography and ingenious staging, Us/Them is not a recounting of the tragedy, but instead a compelling examination of the way young people cope with disaster.


Us/Them is written and directed by Carly Wijs created with Thomas Vantuycom. The creative team consists of Stef Stessel (Designer), Thomas Clause (Lighting Design), Peter Brughmans (Sound Design), and Mieke Versyp (Dramaturg). The company includes Gytha Parmentier and Roman Van Houtven.


Us/Them is produced by BRONKS and Richard Jordan Productions with Theatre Royal Plymouth and Big in Belgium in association with Summerhall.

Big in Belgium—Chicago is emblematic of Chicago Shakespeare’s rich tradition of importing the world's most exciting theatrical events to Chicago and exporting the Theater’s productions to global destinations through WorldStage at Chicago Shakespeare. To date, the program has featured more than 1,000 artists from 23 countries spanning six continents—including artists from South Africa, China, India, Belarus, France, Russia, and the UK. Many of the globe’s most iconic troupes have made Chicago their stage including: The Abbey Theatre from Dublin, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre from London, the Chekhov International Theatre Festival from Moscow, La Comédie Française from Paris, and The Farber Foundry from South Africa. Chicago Shakespeare expanded the WorldStage programming in 2016 by spearheading the yearlong festival Shakespeare 400 Chicago, the largest international celebration of the playwright’s 400-year legacy.

More information on the Big in Belgium—Chicago series at www.chicagoshakes.com/biginbelgium.

All three Big in Belgium—Chicago productions will be performed in English in the theater Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare. Single tickets ($38–$56) are on sale now. Save $5 per ticket when you book 2 or more Big in Belgium shows together. Special discounts are available for groups of 10 or more, as well as CST for $20 tickets for patrons under 35. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Box Office at 312.595.5600 or visit the Theater’s website at www.chicagoshakes.com.

ABOUT CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER
A global theatrical force, Chicago Shakespeare Theater is known for vibrant productions that reflect Shakespeare’s genius for storytelling, musicality of language, and empathy for the human condition. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Barbara Gaines and Executive Director Criss Henderson, Chicago Shakespeare has redefined what a great American Shakespeare theater can be, putting forward a company that delights in the unexpected and defies theatrical category. A Regional Tony Award winner, the Theater produces acclaimed plays at its home on Navy Pier, throughout Chicago’s schools and neighborhoods, and on stages around the world. In 2017, the Theater unveiled a new stage, The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare. Together with the Jentes Family Courtyard Theater and the Thoma Theater Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare, The Yard positions Chicago Shakespeare as the city’s most versatile performing arts venue.

OPENING: Nell Gwynn at Chicago Shakespeare September 20–November 4, 2018.

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

Scarlett Strallen and Timothy Edward Kane lead

North American premiere of Olivier Award-winning comedy

NELL GWYNN

featuring stand-out acting company:

David Bedella, Emily Gardner Xu Hall, Hollis Resnik, John Tufts, Natalie West and Larry Yando

 Scarlett Strallen is Nell Gwynn. Photo by Jeff Sciortino.

Here at ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Live Shows we're eager to catch Chicago  Shakespeare Theater's latest, Nell Gwynn, Winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy! With Scarlett Strallen, a two-time Olivier Award nominee  and multiple Jeff Award-winner Timothy Edward Kane on board, this is high on my fall "must see" Chicago theatre list. I'll be out for the press opening September 28th. Check back soon for my full review at ChiILLiveShows.com.  

 Timothy Edward Kane is King Charles II and Scarlett Strallen is Nell Gwynn in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s production of the Olivier Award-winning comedy Nell Gwynn, directed by Christopher Luscombe, in Chicago Shakespeare’s Courtyard Theater, September 20–November 4, 2018. Photo by Jeff Sciortino.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces the cast for the North American premiere of Jessica Swale’s exuberant new comedy Nell Gwynn, September 20–November 4, 2018. The music- and dance-filled play took London audiences by storm when it debuted at Shakespeare’s Globe, followed by a celebrated run on the West End. Director of the original London production, Christopher Luscombe, helms the new Chicago Shakespeare production. Star of Broadway and the West End Scarlett Strallen appears as Nell; Chicago leading actor Timothy Edward Kane performs the role of King Charles II.

Winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, Nell Gwynn tells the extraordinary true story of an unlikely heroine—the beloved mistress to a king. Young Nell Gwynn is selling oranges in the burgeoning West End when she is discovered by a theater troupe, and becomes one of the first women to take center stage as the leading actress of Restoration England. With her quick wit and exceptional beauty, she wins over audiences—and the heart of King Charles II.

Appearing as Nell Gwynn is Scarlett Strallen, a two-time Olivier Award nominee who starred on the West End in She Loves Me, A Chorus Line, Singin’ in the Rain, HMS Pinafore, and in the title role of Mary Poppins—which she reprised on Broadway. Additional Broadway credits include Travesties and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Portraying King Charles II is multiple Jeff Award-winner Timothy Edward Kane in his seventeenth production at Chicago Shakespeare. Kane’s notable performances include Richard III in Tug of War: Civil Strife (2012), Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2012), Horatio in Hamlet (2006), and as Poins in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 (2005) at Chicago Shakespeare and on tour to the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Complete Works Festival in Stratford-upon-avon.

Two-time Olivier Award-winning actor David Bedella, best known for numerous West End appearances (Jerry Springer – The Opera, In the Heights) and UK television roles, appears as Edward Kynaston, the displaced actor who had played the woman’s roles before Nell’s admission to the troupe. Joining the company are multiple Jeff Award-winners and veterans of National Broadway Tours and Chicago stages: Larry Yando as Charles’ chief minister, Lord Arlington, and Hollis Resnik in the dual roles of Ma Gwynn and the Portuguese Queen. Yando has appeared on the Chicago Shakespeare stage more than 20 times, including recently in Shakespeare in Love, The Tempest, and in the title role of King Lear. Resnik is a twelve-time Jeff Award-winner, including a win for her performance as Carlotta in Chicago Shakespeare’s Follies. She has also appeared in the national touring casts of Les Misérables, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Portraying Charles Hart, the leading actor in the King’s Company, is John Tufts—who has appeared in twelve seasons at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and now returns to Chicago Shakespeare after Love’s Labor’s Lost and the two-part Tug of War saga. Emily Gardner Xu Hall portrays two of Charles’ mistresses: Lady Castlemaine and Louise de Keroualle. In addition to being an award-winning composer/lyricist, Hall’s theatrical credits include In Rooms Such As These at Signature Theater and the US Premiere of Stockholm at Hudson Stageworks. Multiple Jeff Award-winner Natalie West—perhaps best known for her recurring role on the original long-running sitcom, Roseanne—is Nell’s dresser, Nancy.

Emma Ladji appears as Nell’s sister, Rose. Portraying members of the King’s Company are Christopher Sheard as playwright John Dryden and Bret Tuomi as director Thomas Killigrew. Rounding out the ensemble are Jeff Diebold, Dylan Obrochta, Emily Rohm, and Carter Sherman. Making his Chicago Shakespeare debut is canine actor Bentley playing King Charles’ beloved spaniel.

Director Christopher Luscombe is internationally acclaimed for his vibrant productions of Shakespeare, musicals and new works. As an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Luscombe recently staged a repertory pairing of Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing and a production of Twelfth Night, which went on to be broadcast worldwide via RSC Live. His directing credits also include The Madness of George III and Spamalot in the West End, The Comedy of Errors and The Merry Wives of Windsor for Shakespeare’s Globe, and numerous international touring and West End productions of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Luscombe returns to Chicago Shakespeare after his 2014 production of Henry V.

Joining Luscombe on the creative team is Drama Desk Award-winning Composer Nigel Hess, who has scored more than twenty productions at the Royal Shakespeare Company and on Broadway, and Music Director Jermaine Hill. The lush set and costumes of Restoration England are being created by Emmy and Olivier Award-winning designer Hugh Durrant, who is internationally recognized for his work in theater, opera, and concerts, including Cher’s Farewell Tour. Jeff Award-winning Lighting Designer Greg Hofmannn returns to Chicago Shakespeare where his credits include Mary Stuart, Love’s Labor’s Lost, and Ride the Cyclone. Stephen Ptacek is the production’s Sound Designer; a three-time Jeff Award-winner, Ptacek has designed with Victory Gardens Theater, Gift Theatre, and Northwestern University. The production’s period styles are complimented by designs from Chicago Shakespeare’s resident Wig and Make-up Designer Richard Jarvie, who has created designs for over thirty productions at the Theater. Completing the creative team are Choreographer Amber Mak, Dialect Coach Eva Breneman, and Assistant Director Lanise Antoine Shelley.

For more information, visit www.chicagoshakes.com/nellgwynn.

Nell Gwynn is presented in Chicago Shakespeare’s Courtyard Theater, September 20–November 4, 2018. Single tickets are $48–$88. Special discounts are available for groups of 10 or more, as well as CST for $20 tickets for patrons under 35. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Box Office at 312.595.5600 or visit the Theater’s website at www.chicagoshakes.com.

CST strives to make its facility and performances accessible to all patrons through its Access Shakespeare programs. Accessible performances for Nell Gwynn include:

Open-captioning – Thursday, October 25, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
ASL Duo-interpretation – Friday, October 26, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.
Audio-description – Sunday, October 28, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. with optional touch tour at 12:00 p.m.

ABOUT CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER
A global theatrical force, Chicago Shakespeare Theater is known for vibrant productions that reflect Shakespeare’s genius for storytelling, musicality of language, and empathy for the human condition. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Barbara Gaines and Executive Director Criss Henderson, Chicago Shakespeare has redefined what a great American Shakespeare theater can be, putting forward a company that delights in the unexpected and defies theatrical category. A Regional Tony Award winner, the Theater produces acclaimed plays at its home on Navy Pier, throughout Chicago’s schools and neighborhoods, and on stages around the world. In 2017, the Theater unveiled a new stage, The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare. Together with the Jentes Family Courtyard Theater and the Thoma Theater Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare, The Yard positions Chicago Shakespeare as the city’s most versatile performing arts venue.

REVIEW: BIGMOUTH Launching Big in Belgium—Chicago Series at Chicago Shakespeare Theater Through September 22nd

Despots and demagogues, politicians and peacemakers, are all given voice in this powerful punch of a one man show.

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

Chicago Shakespeare presents

BIGMOUTH

Through September 22nd

Launching Big in Belgium—Chicago

Review:

Imagine a bank of nine varied microphones, and one intrepid traveler, embodying a host of diverse words from ancient Greece to modern America through speeches and song. Valentijn Dhaenens' one man show defies easy explanation. He pulls from a diverse and eclectic selection of voices like Socrates, Muhammad Ali, General Patton, Osama bin Laden, and more. His words are an eerie reminder that humanity has a long history of killing the wise and those championing both peace and revolution. His choices we're quite gender based, with only one ultra conservative, racist woman represented among a slew of men, but otherwise his speeches included a variety of races, ages, eras, and viewpoints.  

Dhaenens spent a year reading over a thousand speeches and embracing the synchronicity and patterns that emerged over the centuries. He's also got an uncanny ear for the perfect musical bridges to compliment his themes, all of which were also sung by him, though many also included music, looping and effects. 

This immersive one man show is as unique and creative as it is thought provoking. Without an overtly skewed agenda, Dhaenens has created the perfect vehicle for bringing out the similarities in enemies, showing terrorist's rational reasoning, and displaying just how little humanity has actually changed or evolved, in matters of propaganda and rational behind war, peace, wisdom and racism since 400BC. Highly recommended. 

Three pioneering events representing the next wave of boundary-pushing theater

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents Big in Belgium—Chicago, a series of three acclaimed theatrical events representing the next wave of boundary-pushing European theater. Featured productions include a sweeping tribute to 2,500 years of oration, an engaging examination of free will—and the manipulation of it—in political elections, and a chilling look at tragedy and terror through the eyes of children. Curated by Chicago Shakespeare, Richard Jordan Productions, and David Bauwens, Big in Belgium—Chicago will be presented in the theater Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare, beginning with BigMouth on September 12, 2018. All Big in Belgium productions are performed in English.

Launching Big in Belgium—Chicago is BigMouth (September 12–22, 2018), a tour-de-force solo performance by Valentijn Dhaenens, produced by leading Belgian company SKaGeN. Equipped with nine microphones, his voice, and indefatigable energy, Dhaenens weaves together some of the most revered speeches in history—from sermons and eulogies to declarations of war and love, from the likes of Socrates, Muhammad Ali, General Patton, Osama bin Laden, and more. Audiences are instantaneously transported across the millennia by Dhaenens’ virtuosic performance, illuminating the tricks of rhetoric that have remained unchanged since the dawn of language. BigMouth was the sell-out hit of the 2012 and 2014 Edinburgh Fringe Festivals, and has since played to great acclaim in major festivals worldwide. The Guardian declared, “Dhaenens employs not just his voice but his entire body to examine justice, war, racism, and retribution and to create a piece in which past and present are in a constant dialogue.”



Later this season, Big in Belgium—Chicago continues with Fight Night (October 23–November 4, 2018) from collective Ontroerend Goed, which returns to Chicago Shakespeare after A History of Everything in 2012, and the stirring Us/Them (January 22–February 3, 2019) from BRONKS.

A stinging examination of free will and politics staged by company founder and Artistic Director Alexander Devriendt, Fight Night immerses audience members (equipped with electronic voting boxes) in a showdown between five contenders vying for their votes. Employing a dizzying array of tactics and strategies, the candidates compete to survive a relentless succession of eliminations, and ultimately be crowned the elected victor. Blurring the lines between theater and interactive performance art, Fight Night is a hilarious, thought-provoking look at the mechanisms of democracy.

Rounding out Big in Belgium—Chicago is Us/Them—acclaimed as the “unforgettable highlight of the Fringe” by The Telegraph when it debuted in Edinburgh, followed by a sold-out run at the National Theatre of Great Britain. Told through the viewpoint of two children, the production is a chilling look at the 2004 Beslan school siege by Chechen separatists in Russia, in which more than 1,100 adults and children were taken hostage and 334 lost their lives. Using intricate choreography and ingenious staging, Us/Them is not a recounting of the tragedy, but instead a compelling examination of the way young people cope with disaster.

Big in Belgium—Chicago is emblematic of Chicago Shakespeare’s rich tradition of importing the world's most exciting theatrical events to Chicago and exporting the Theater’s productions to global destinations through WorldStage at Chicago Shakespeare. To date, the program has featured more than 1,000 artists from 23 countries spanning six continents—including artists from South Africa, China, India, Belarus, France, Russia, and the UK. Many of the globe’s most iconic troupes have made Chicago their stage including: The Abbey Theatre from Dublin, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre from London, the Chekhov International Theatre Festival from Moscow, La Comédie Française from Paris, and The Farber Foundry from South Africa. Chicago Shakespeare expanded the WorldStage programming in 2016 by spearheading the yearlong festival Shakespeare 400 Chicago, the largest international celebration of the playwright’s 400-year legacy.

More information on the Big in Belgium—Chicago series at www.chicagoshakes.com/biginbelgium.

All three Big in Belgium—Chicago productions will be performed in English in the theater Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare. Single tickets ($38–$56) are on sale now. Save $5 per ticket when you book 2 or more Big in Belgium shows together. Special discounts are available for groups of 10 or more, as well as CST for $20 tickets for patrons under 35. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Box Office at 312.595.5600 or visit the Theater’s website at www.chicagoshakes.com.

BigMouth is created and performed by Valentijn Dhaenens. Joining Dhaenens on the creative team are Jeroen Wuyts (Lighting and Sound Design) and Barbara de Laere (Costume Design).

BigMouth is produced by SKaGeN and Richard Jordan Productions with Theatre Royal Plymouth and Big in Belgium, in association with De Tijd and STUK.

Fight Night is written and directed by Alexander Devriendt, Angelo Tijssens and the cast. The company includes Aaron Gordon, Abdel Daoudi, Angelo Tijssen, Aurélie Lannoy, Charlotte De Bruyne, and Michai Geyzen. Completing the creative team are Lilith Tremmery (Scenography, Light Design and Production), Babette Poncelet and Iben Stalpaert (Technicians), Sophie De Somere (Costumes and scenography), Cameron Goodall and David Heinrich (Music), and Nick Mattan (Graphics Voting System).

Fight Night is produced by Ontroerend Goed, The Border Project, Richard Jordan Productions, and Theatre Royal Plymouth in association with Big in Belgium.

Us/Them is written and directed by Carly Wijs created with Thomas Vantuycom. The creative team consists of Stef Stessel (Designer), Thomas Clause (Lighting Design), Peter Brughmans (Sound Design), and Mieke Versyp (Dramaturg). The company includes Gytha Parmentier and Roman Van Houtven.

Us/Them is produced by BRONKS and Richard Jordan Productions with Theatre Royal Plymouth and Big in Belgium in association with Summerhall.

ABOUT CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER
A global theatrical force, Chicago Shakespeare Theater is known for vibrant productions that reflect Shakespeare’s genius for storytelling, musicality of language, and empathy for the human condition. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Barbara Gaines and Executive Director Criss Henderson, Chicago Shakespeare has redefined what a great American Shakespeare theater can be, putting forward a company that delights in the unexpected and defies theatrical category. A Regional Tony Award winner, the Theater produces acclaimed plays at its home on Navy Pier, throughout Chicago’s schools and neighborhoods, and on stages around the world. In 2017, the Theater unveiled a new stage, The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare. Together with the Jentes Family Courtyard Theater and the Thoma Theater Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare, The Yard positions Chicago Shakespeare as the city’s most versatile performing arts venue.