WASHINGTON, D.C.: Shakespeare Theatre Company has announced its 2018-19 season, its final season selected by longtime artistic director Michael Kahn.
“It has been quite a journey since I took over as artistic director in 1986,” said Kahn in a statement. “I wanted this season to be a celebration of the past 32 years, and I dedicate it to everyone who has been instrumental in the theatre’s development. I look forward to welcoming both familiar and new faces as we work together to continue STC’s commitment to create, preserve and promote classical theatre.”
The season will open with Shakespeare’s A Comedy of Errors, directed by associate artistic director Alan Paul.
The second production will be the National Theatre’s Tony and Olivier Award-winning production of An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley. The show takes place at the home of a wealthy British family who are hosting a party one evening when a detective arrives to investigate the death of a young woman. Stephen Daldry directs.
Then playwright David Ives, who has had four plays produced at STC, will have another world premiere at the theatre: The Panties, The Partner, and The Profit: Scenes from the Heroic Life of the Middle Class, translated and adapted from a work by the German playwright Carl Sternheim. The adaptation takes the story of an early 20th-century German family’ rise from poverty to riches and places it into contemporary America. Kahn will direct.
Then director David Muse will helm Shakespeare’s Richard III.
Next will be Kate Hamill’s adaptation of the novel Vanity Fair, about the ambitious Becky Sharp and her gentle friend Amelia, and their rise up the English social ladder. Jessica Stone will direct.
Closing the season will be the world premiere of The Oresteia, Ellen McLaughlin’s new adaptation of Aeschylus’s Greek tragedy, about Queen Clytemnestra awaiting her husband’s return from war. Kahn will direct.
“I grew up in D.C. and have known and admired Michael since the beginning of my career, so working at STC has been a joy for me,” said McLaughlin in a statement. “The theatre is filled with smart, passionate people who have given their lives to this medium. The plays that make up the Oresteia trilogy are some the oldest we have, arguably the foundation of western culture; they are wonderful and mighty challenges to take on. I couldn’t be in better company on this journey.”
Shakespeare Theatre Company presents classical work in its two theatres: the 451-seat Lansburgh Theatre and the 774-seat Sidney Harman Hall. It is the recipient of the 2012 Regional Theatre Tony Award.
