Step into a spring of disguise, desire, & deduction at the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, Virginia.
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night Or What You Will opens this season with mistaken identities, secret longings, and a love triangle gone delightfully awry. The Hound of the Baskervilles follows with a side-splitting spoof of Sherlock Holmes as three actors play dozens of roles in a fast-paced mystery comedy. Close out the season with A Bold Stroke for a Husband by Hannah Cowley—a rediscovered classic that turns Shakespearean disguise on its head—sharp-tongued women flip scandal into triumph with wit, heart, and audacity.
Summer at the Blackfriars Playhouse brings Wonder & Wild Hearts.
Shakespeare’s As You Like It sends lovers, fools, and outcasts into the Forest of Arden, where disguises tumble and love finds its way. Thornton Wilder’s Our Town joins the summer repertory, capturing the beauty of everyday life in Grover’s Corners, showing us that the smallest moments often carry the deepest meaning.
Fall at the Blackfriars Playhouse brings three stories into repertory during the Blackfriars Playhouse’s 25th anniversary. William Shakespeare’s The Tempest summons a storm that brings Prospero’s enemies to the isle full of noises. Meanwhile, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein by David Catlin reimagines the haunting tale of a brilliant mind whose creation blurs the line between human and monstrous. Closing the season is Jen Silverman’s Witch, a modern retelling inspired by the 1621 Jacobean drama The Witch of Edmonton, a darkly funny tale of power, patriarchy, and the price of getting what you want.
