International director Edwards' Romeo and Juliet will play Sept. 15–Nov. 14. She is artistic director of Queensland Theatre Company. The new As You Like It, staged by CST associate artistic director Griffin (Broadway's The Color Purple, The Apple Tree), will play Jan. 5-March 6, 2011.
The third title in the three-play subscription series will conclude in spring 2011 with The Madness of George III April 13–June 12, 2011. Alan Bennett's play about royal intrigue "follows the account of a monarch's slide into insanity, the ensuing political power struggle and the enduring devotion of his Queen." The production will be directed by Penny Metropolus, whose work has been seen at Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Shakespeare theatres across the country.
CST artistic director Barbara Gaines begins the 2010-11 season making her debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago when she directs Verdi's Macbeth. In the winter, she will direct a production in Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare; the title and dates will be announced.
CST's World's Stage Series begins with Itsoseng (June 9–20, 2010), written and performed by Omphile Molusi. "Taking its name from the South African township where Molusi was raised, Itsoseng is the story of a young man desperate for change but unable to achieve it," according to CST notes. "Balancing comedy and tragedy, it explores the effects of changing politics on the township. The 28-year-old playwright Molusi was the first recipient of the Royal Shakespeare Company's Brett Goldin Bursary Award in 2006."
In December, French performance artist Aurélia Thiérrée brings to Chicago her show of stage illusion, Aurélia's Oratorio (Dec. 1–12). "Inspired by French cirque nouveau, Aurélia's Oratorio follows the successful Chicago engagements of her brother James Thiérrée's productions of Farewell Umbrella and Bright Abyss," according to CST.
The World's Stage Series concludes March 15–27, 2011, with Ireland's Druid Theatre Company production of The Cripple of Inishmaan by Tony Award-winning playwright Martin McDonagh (The Pillowman, The Beauty Queen of Leenane). Staged by Druid's artistic director Garry Hynes, this major Irish theatre company "brings to the stage the darkly comic story of the sleepy town of Inishmaan and its residents who are electrified by the arrival of a Hollywood film crew making a documentary."
CST Family programming begins in summer 2010 with the world premiere of Alan Schmuckler and David Holstein's The Emperor's New Clothes (June 30-Aug. 29), a CST-commissioned musical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's classic story.
In January 2011, "a theatrical percussive world of swords, sound and the supernatural make Shakespeare's language come alive" in Short Shakespeare! Macbeth (Jan. 22–March 5, 2011), a 75-minute abridged production created for families.
For information, visit www.chicagoshakes.com.
