James Keegan

The world whirls out of control in Shakespeare's thrilling tale of France's Joan of Arc, the English warrior Talbot, and the young king Henry. From the funeral of Henry V that opens the play to Joan's fiery execution, Shakespeare's brilliant first installment of the Wars of the Roses is riveting storytelling that never lets up.

One of history's most famous love stories, Antony and Cleopatra is Shakespeare's most expansive play, full of all the colliding opposites that make life rich: work and play, war and peace, East and West, and – in the title characters – man and woman. The kaleidoscopic language and action of the play gives us a story which is simultaneously a tragedy and a comedy, both sublime.

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare casts a theatrical spell powerful enough to make audiences of all ages believe in anything. This mischievous comedy of lovers, heroes, fairies, and rude mechanicals is his tribute to humankind's power of imagination, and reveals that the "course of true love" can alter with just one touch of magic.

Buffeted from shore to shore by the winds of destiny, Pericles must navigate the whole of the Mediterranean on his search for peace, love, and family. His journey becomes an astonishing adventure filled with assassins, shipwrecks, pirates, brothels, goddesses, and magicians. He must weather loss and heartbreak before the storm calms with miraculous reunion and wondrous rebirth.

Consumed by obsessive love for a male courtier, the newly-crowned King Edward II risks everything – crown, country, and even his own life – with a dangerous affair. When his foundation of divine right begins to crumble, Edward realizes the limitations of his power, but not before the whispers of treason have started to swell to a roar.

In this rollicking farce, Shakespeare elevates Roman comedy to dizzying heights. Two long-separated twins, their two tricky servants (also twins), a jealous wife, and her lovelorn sister romp through Shakespeare’s shortest play. Filled with mistaken identities, slapstick humor, and the fabulous Dr. Pinch, The Comedy of Errors will have the whole family laughing from the first confusion to the last.

From the first words of the play until the title character loses his head, Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy is also his most unrelenting examination of the dark side of humanity. Driven to bloody deeds by their lust for power, Macbeth and his Lady fight to hold on to their ill-gotten throne, their sanity, and each other by any means necessary.

Enormous wit, tremendous bravery, and a gargantuan nose. Cyrano is passionately in love with the glorious Roxanne, but believes that she could never love him as he is. He creates poetry to woo his great love on behalf of the beautiful Christian, whom Roxanne imagines she loves. After years of mourning, Cyrano finally learns the answer to the question he could never ask.

One of Shakespeare’s most exciting plays, King John continues the thrilling story of what happens after the events in The Lion in Winter. John, now king, continues his family’s outrageous game of capture the crown. Mad world. Mad kings. Madly entertaining. Don’t miss this rare chance to see King John and The Lion in Winter performed in repertory with actors playing the same characters who appear in each.

Epic and intimate. Brilliantly funny and deeply moving. The Lion in Winter plays out the spectacular strategies for power and love between two of England’s most formidable and most human rulers, King Henry II and Queen Eleanor, and their three crown-hungry sons. Telling the story of what happens before Shakespeare’s King John, The Lion in Winter is a modern theatrical masterpiece.

A gleeful look at love and a dramatic examination of friendship, Two Gents has one of Shakespeare’s most engaging comic heroines, one of his funniest clowns, and the best role ever for a dog. Jealous lovers, a cross-dressing heroine, and a daring escape into the forest make this romp simultaneously a familiar and completely surprising trip.

In this magical, violent, and beguiling comedy, Imogen — Shakespeare’s brave and virtuous heroine — must endure a series of humiliating trials before all is set right through the astonishing revelations that end the play. Loved for its ravishingly beautiful language and enthralling storytelling, Cymbeline has long been a cult favorite in which Shakespeare forces his characters to take a leap of faith and, when they do, they and the audience discover that miracles can happen even when it seems that all is lost.

From Shylock’s unjust Venice to Portia’s golden Belmont, The Merchant of Venice is at once a comic love story and a passionate discourse on justice and mercy. Both entertaining and disturbing, this magnificent comedy will have you asking “who are the heroes and who are the villains?”