Chicago Shakespeare Theater Presents the Midwest Premiere ofJaja's African Hair Braiding January 14–February 2, 2025

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents

the Midwest Premiere of

Jaja’s African Hair Braiding

Direct from a Tony Award-winning Broadway run

A vibrant comedy about West African immigrant women who find community in a Harlem salon

Written by Jocelyn Bioh and directed by Chicago native Whitney White

January 14–February 2 in The Yard

Straight from a twice-extended Broadway run, Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) presents the Midwest premiere of Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. Hailed as “wickedly entertaining” by The Washington Post and nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Play, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding was written by award-winning, Ghanaian-American playwright Jocelyn Bioh (School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, Nollywood Dreams) and is directed by Chicago native, Tony Award nominee, and Obie Award winner Whitney White (Our Dear Dead Drug Lord, What to Send Up When It Goes Down). The production runs January 14–February 2, 2025 in The Yard. 

The cast includes Melanie Brezill, Leovina Charles, Victoire Charles, Yao Dogbe, Mia Ellis, Tiffany Renee Johnson, Jordan Rice, Awa Sal Secka, Aisha Sougou, and Bisserat Tseggai.

This vibrant comedic gem offers a glimpse into the lives of a group of West African immigrant women who find community in a bustling Harlem hair salon. Over the course of a sweltering summer day, love ignites, dreams soar, and secrets unravel. Uncertainty simmers below the surface, and when it boils over, this tight-knit community is forced to confront what it means to be an outsider on the edge of the place they call home. With humor as rich as its characters, this play weaves hilarious moments with profound insights to create “an overwhelmingly affectionate portrait of Black female joy” (TheaterMania). 

Jaja's African Hair Braiding is a co-production with Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theater, and La Jolla Playhouse and is presented in association with Madison Wells Live and LaChanze. The play had its world premiere at Manhattan Theatre Club.

"It's such a joy to be able to give the gift of this whip smart, funny, and original comedy to Chicago audiences,” shared Artistic Director Edward Hall. “Like all great comedies, there is plenty to laugh about and reflect on as Whitney White has orchestrated Jocelyn Bioh's play with the kind of dramatic perfection that is as rare as it is supremely enjoyable.”

"I am thrilled and honored that audiences beyond Broadway will get to come to 'the shop' and meet the vibrant women of Jaja's African Hair Braiding,” says Playwright Jocelyn Bioh. “This play means so much to me as both a native New Yorker and as a first-generation Ghanaian American as it speaks to the heart of what makes our country so beautifully unique: its rich diversity of people and culture. There is a real universality to these women's experiences, and I can't wait for audiences to connect and fall in love with each of them." 

The cast features three performers returning to the Chicago Shakespeare stage: Melanie Brezill, whose CST credits include As You Like It and The Comedy of Errors, along with Broadway and National Tour credits in The Book of Mormon, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and Mamma Mia!; Yao Dogbe, returning to CST after appearing in Richard III, Twelfth Night, and Short Shakespeare! Macbeth; and Tiffany Renee Johnson, who appeared in CST’s Red Velvet and whose other Chicago credits include Blues for an Alabama Sky at Remy Bumppo Theatre, School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play at Goodman Theatre, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at Writers Theatre. 

Making CST debuts are Leovina Charles (The Lion King on Broadway, Lempicka at La Jolla Playhouse), Victoire Charles (Golden Age and Ruined at Manhattan Theatre Club), Mia Ellis (The Amen Corner at Shakespeare Theatre Company), Jordan Rice (Ava DuVernay’s film Selma), Awa Sal Secka (After Midnight at Paper Mill Playhouse, Goddess at Berkeley Repertory Theater), Aisha Sougou (Beehive and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at Marriott Theatre), and Bisserat Tseggai (The Jungle at St. Ann’s Warehouse, For All The Women Who Thought They Were Mad at Soho Repertory Theater).

Playwright Jocelyn Bioh is a Tony Award-nominated, Ghanian-American writer and performer from New York City. Her other work includes Merry Wives, which won the 2022 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Adaptation, Nollywood Dreams, Broadway-bound musical Goddess, and the multi-award-winning School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, which has been produced more than 65 times regionally and in the UK. She was a Tow Playwriting Fellow and has won several playwriting awards including the Drama Guild’s Hull-Warriner Prize, Steinberg Playwright Award, Lortel Award, and Drama Desk Award. Bioh has also written for TV series including Russian Doll, Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It, Tiny Beautiful Things, and The Acolyte, and is also writing the upcoming film adaptation of the Broadway musical Once on This Island for Disney.

Director Whitney White is an Obie Award and Lilly Award-winning, as well as a Tony Award-nominated, director, writer, and musician from Chicago. Jaja’s African Hair Braiding marks her CST debut, but it is also a homecoming; she fondly remembers field trips to CST productions as a high school student and credits a Shakespeare workshop at CST as an impactful early-career experience. Her Chicago credits include directing The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington at Steppenwolf Theatre, and other directing credits include the upcoming Broadway production of The Last Five Years starring Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren, What To Send Up When It Goes Down (NYT Critic’s Pick) and Jordans at The Public Theater, The Secret Life of Bees at The Almeida in the UK, and Soft at MCC Theatre (NYT Critic’s Pick). Original works include Semblance (New York Theatre Workshop), Definition (Bushwick Starr), and Macbeth in Stride (American Repertory Theater, Under the Radar Festival at The Public Theater), for which she won an Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Musical Performance. Her four-part cycle deconstructing Shakespeare’s women is currently in development with American Repertory Theater and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

White is joined by the creative team from the Broadway production, including three-time Tony-winning scenic designer David Zinn (Stereophonic, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical, The Humans), returning to CST after designing the set for The Notebook; costume designer Dede Ayite, the first Black woman to win a Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Play (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding); Tony Award-nominated lighting designer Jiyoun Chang (Stereophonic, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, Slave Play); Tony-nominated original music and sound designer Justin Ellington (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf); Tony-nominated video designer Stefania Bulbarella (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding); and Tony Award-winning hair and wig designer Nikiya Mathis (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding). The company also includes associate director Manna-Symone Middlebrooks, dialect and vocal coach Yetunde Felix-Ukwu, intimacy consultant Sierra Young, associate sound designer Dwaine Potts, stage manager Melanie J. Lisby, and assistant stage manager Brillian Qi-Bell. Casting is by Caparelliotis Casting, Kelly Gillespie and Erica A. Hart.

There will be a student matinee performance during the run which will host nearly 600 students, 90% of whom are from Chicago Public Schools. This is one of many live performance opportunities for students offered in the 2024/2025 season, including student matinees of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Pericles this fall and 40 performances of Short Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the spring.

I'll be out for the press opening for Jaja’s African Hair Braiding on January 17th, so check back shortly after for my full review. 

More information at chicagoshakes.com/jaja or on social media at @chicagoshakes.  

PERFORMANCE DETAILS:

Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m.

Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. (no matinee on January 15)

Thursdays at 7:00 p.m.

Fridays at 7:00 p.m.

Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Sundays at 2:00 p.m.

Chicago Shakespeare strives to make its facility and performances accessible to all patrons. Accessible seating, assistive listening devices, large-print and Braille programs, and sensory tools are available at every performance. Enhanced performances include:

Audio-described performance with optional touch tour – Sunday, January 26 at 2:00 p.m.

A program that provides spoken narration of a play’s key visual elements for patrons who are blind or have low vision. Touch Tours provide patrons the opportunity to experience, firsthand, a production’s design elements.

Open captioned performances – Wednesday, January 29 at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

A text display of the words and sounds heard during a play, synced live with the action onstage.

ASL interpreted performance – Thursday, January 30 at 7:00 p.m.

All dialogue and lyrics are translated into American Sign Language by two certified interpreters

CREATIVE TEAM

Jocelyn Bioh - Playwright

Whitney White - Director 

David Zinn - Set Designer

Dede Ayite - Costume Designer

Jiyoun Chang - Lighting Designer 

Justin Ellington - Original Music and Sound Designer

Stefania Bulbarella - Video Designer

Nikiya Mathis - Hair and Wig Designer

Manna-Symone Middlebrooks - Associate Director

Yetunde Felix-Ukwu - Dialect and Vocal Coach

Erica A. Hart, CSA - Casting

Kelly Gillespie, CSA - Casting

David Caparelliotis, CSA - Casting

Sierra Young - Intimacy Consultant

Dwaine Potts - Associate Sound Designer

Melanie J. Lisby - Stage Manager

Brillian Qi-Bell - Assistant Stage Manager

CAST

Melanie Brezill - Michelle, Chrissy, LaNiece

Leovina Charles - Vanessa, Sheila, Radia

Victoire Charles - Jaja

Yao Dogbe - James, Franklin, Olu, Eric

Mia Ellis - Jennifer

Tiffany Renee Johnson - Aminata

Jordan Rice - Marie

Awa Sal Secka - Bea

Aisha Sougou - Ndidi

Bisserat Tseggai - Miriam

Onye Eme-Akwari - Nollywood Dreams Actor

Morgan Scott - Nollywood Dreams Actor

Kevin Medesse Aousso - Understudy

Renea S. Brown - Understudy

Debora Crabbe - Understudy

CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER (CST)

A Regional Tony Award recipient, Chicago Shakespeare Theater produces a bold and innovative year-round season that includes Shakespeare, original plays, musicals, family programming, and international theatrical events. CST is committed to serving as a cultural center across its three stages—the 700+ seat Yard, 500 seat Jentes Family Courtyard Theater, and the 200 seat Carl and Marilynn Thoma Upstairs Studio as well as in classrooms, neighborhoods, and venues around the world. CST has a deep commitment to education and lifelong learning with robust programming for students, teachers, and lifelong learners, and engagement with communities across the city. Onstage, in classrooms and neighborhoods across the city, and in venues around the world, Chicago Shakespeare is a multifaceted theater—inviting audiences, artists, and community members to share powerful stories that illuminate the complexities, ambiguities, and wonders of our world. www.chicagoshakes.com

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.

REVIEW: Frenetic Kinetic "Toad" Microcosm of Life at The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Through 9/23

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar:

James Thierrée’s The Toad Knew 

The Toad Knew has been one of the hottest tickets in Chi, IL this month. The world famous troupe is in from France, the acclaimed production is a very limited five day run, and this is the inaugural show for Chicago Shakespeare Theatre's exciting new space, The Yard. I caught it last night and consider it a must see, though it won't be everyone's cup of tea. 

Theatre goers who like literal, straight forward, easily digestible shows, may find this a mouthful. There is little dialogue and James Thierrée pushes the boundaries of tolerance with unpleasant static and repetition of sound, to the point of discomfort, before treating the audience to beautiful music and soaring vocals. Much of the choreography is twitchy and jerky, rather than a pleasing fluid and flowing style. The set is grimy and ugly, and there is no discernible plot, yet we found it enthralling, particularly the stunning opener and show close with the massive, shabby, red velvet curtain. I've never seen a curtain call where the cast crawled from beneath the curtain on their bellies! This production is utterly unique, and well worth an evening.

The stamina and training needed to pull off a movement based show of this magnitude is astonishing, and we found the alternating bouts of intense action and complete motionlessness among the characters stunning. In a microcosm of life, The Toad Knew includes repetitive motion and rest, machines, music, the elements, humorous accidentally injuries, cooperation, coexistence, isolation, irritation, elation, and a good dose of humor. We were mesmerized by this frenetic kinetic exploration.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) opens the innovative new performance venue The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare with James Thierrée’s The Toad Knew from France as part of CST’s World’s Stage series, September 19–23, 2017.

James Thierrée's The Toad Knew from France All Production Photos by Richard Haughton.

Chicago Shakespeare welcomes back creator and director James
Thierrée after his wildly popular presentations Farewell Umbrella in
2007 and Bright Abyss in 2005. For nearly two decades, Thierrée
has twisted audiences’ imaginations with astonishing, theatrical
creations, including Junebug Symphony and Tabac Rouge. Born to
circus legends Jean-Baptise Thierrée and Victoria Chaplin,
Thierrée made his circus debut at the age of four and has been

performing ever since. His works have toured the world over and have received critical and popular acclaim.

This spectacle premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival, where it was called “flamboyant, hallucinatory and ravishingly beautiful” by The Guardian. Thierrée returns to CST after his magnificent Farewell Umbrella (2007) and Bright Abyss (2005). 

His newest invention, The Toad Knew, intertwines dreams with childhood terrors, burlesque, and realism to explore the wild, wondrous love shared among siblings. A collective of dancers, high-wire artists, and musicians create an intoxicating world evocative of Salvador Dalí and Tim Burton. This is artistry that defies categorization, but promises to stay with you long after you leave the Theater. 

Click HERE to purchase tickets and discover more about the new space and this production.



Cirque nouveau superstar James Thierrée presents The Toad Knew to open Chicago Shakespeare’s innovative third theater The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare in a limited engagement as part of CST’s World’s Stage series September 19–23, 2017. Photo by Richard Haughton.