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| Darrell D’Silva as Siward (Photo: Jason Ma) |
From our friends at the Shakespeare Theatre Company...
Dunsinane, Presented by the National Theatre of Scotland and The Royal Shakespeare Company
The Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) presents Dunsinane, playwright David Greig’s majestic sequel to Shakespeare’s Macbeth, presented by the National Theatre of Scotland and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and directed by Roxana Silbert. First premiered by the Royal Shakespeare Company at Hampstead Theatre in 2010, this tour marks the U.S. premiere of Dunsinane after a highly successful tour to East Asia and Russia in spring 2014. Hailed by The Guardian as “a work of compelling intelligence, provocation and wit,” Dunsinane will play at the Sidney Harman Hall (610 F Street, NW) from February 4-21, 2015.
“I’m delighted that Dunsinane is having its American premiere,” says playwright David Greig. “Wherever Dunsinane goes, new audiences seem to bring new context and light the play up in a different way and I can’t wait to find out how the story comes over in Washington, D.C.”
Dunsinane is the setting for Greig’s play, the Scottish garrison town where the English occupying army is ready to commence battle and historically believed to be where Malcolm defeated Macbeth in 1054. Greig has taken Scotland’s real history and dramatically mixed it with the setting of Shakespeare’s play, one of the most famous landscapes in literature, even though Shakespeare himself never set foot on Scottish soil.
Macbeth is dead. Under cover of night, the English army has swept through the landscape, killed the tyrant and taken the seat of power. Attempting to restore peace and put in place a new ruler, the commanding officer is beset by a brutal guerrilla uprising and simmering discontent amongst his own inexperienced troops. Struggling to grasp the alien customs and politics of this harsh country, he finds himself drawn towards the tyrant’s powerful widow in search of someone to share his burden of responsibility. Increasingly isolated from his own men and Scottish allies alike, his efforts to restore order appear futile as the situation spirals out of control.
“One of the most exciting things about my job is the opportunity it affords me to expose audiences in Washington, D.C. to theatre of the highest international caliber. I have been eager to partner again with our friends at the National Theatre of Scotland, the resident geniuses behind the unforgettable Black Watch and The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart,” says STC Artistic Director Michael Kahn. “David Greig is one of our most imaginative contemporary writers, and the twists he adds to the familiar Shakespearean narrative are exciting, thought-provoking and frequently suggestive with our contemporary political world.”
Siobhan Redmond will reprise her role as Gruach, (Lady Macbeth) and she will be joined by leading British stage and screen actor, Darrell D’Silva, in the role of Siward. Other cast members include George Brockbanks, Helen Darbyshire, Ewan Donald, Keith Fleming, Tom Gill, Toyin Omari-Kinch, Arthur McBain, Matt McClure, Alex Mann and Mairi Morrison.
The creative team are David Greig (Writer), Roxana Silbert (Director), Robert Innes Hopkins (Designer), Chahine Yavroyan (Lighting Designer), Nick Powell (Composer and Sound Designer), Luke Kernaghan (Associate Director), Anna Morrissey (Movement Director), Polly Bennett (Associate Movement Director), Terry King (Fight Director), Stephen Kemble (Voice Coach), Ruth Cooper-Brown (Archery Consultant), Rosalind Acton (Musical Director and Cello), Robert Owen (Percussion) and Andy Taylor (Guitarist.)
The production begins its tour at the Carolina Performing Arts, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and continues on after STC to Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Chicago and the Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts, Los Angeles.
Dunsinane is sponsored by Dr. Paul and Mrs. Rose Carter. Restaurant Partner, Zaytinya.
Supported by the Scottish Government International Touring Fund.
The National Theatre of Scotland and the Royal Shakespeare Company’s
Dunsinane
by David Greig
Directed by Roxana Silbert
DATES: February 4-21, 2015
LOCATION: Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F Street, NW
LOCATION: Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F Street, NW
TIMES: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays at 7:30 PM, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, Saturdays and Sundays at 2 PM.
TICKETS: $20.00 - $110.00. Premium seating is also available for weekend performances. Special discounts are available for military, students, seniors and patrons aged 35 and under. Contact the Box Office at 202-547-1122 or visit ShakespeareTheatre.org for more information.
YOUNG PROSE: Every Tuesday at 12 p.m., STC releases an allotment of $18 tickets to patrons ages 35 and younger. $18 tickets are limited to performances through the following Sunday and are available in person at the Box Office and via phone at 202-547-1122. Advance tickets are available for $25. There is a limit of four tickets per person. ID is always required to pick up Young Prose tickets.
ACCESSIBILITY: Sidney Harman Hall is accessible to persons with disabilities, offering wheelchair-accessible seating and restrooms, audio enhancement and Braille and large print programs.
• An open-captioned performance of Dunsinane will be on Thursday, February 12 at 8:00 PM
• An audio-described performance of Dunsinane will be on Saturday, February 14 at 2:00 PM
• A sign-interpreted performance of Dunsinane will be on Tuesday, February 10 at 7:30 PM
• Seating in the sign-interpreted and audio description section can be reserved by calling the Box Office
PARKING: The LAZ garage is located directly beneath Sidney Harman Hall; enter from E or F Streets between 6th and 7th Streets. E Street is the recommended entry because of events at the Verizon Center. When entering, follow signs directing you to 620 F Street. Elevators will take you to the Winter Garden lobby next door to Sidney Harman Hall on F Street.
METRO: Gallery Pl-Chinatown station on the Red/Green/Yellow lines: Use the Arena/7th Street exit. Sidney Harman Hall is visible one block to your left. Judiciary Square station on the Red line: use the F Street exit to the National Building Museum, turn left and walk 1.5 blocks along F Street to 6th Street.
Box Office: 202-547-1122 (voice) TTY: 202-638-3863 Toll Free: 877-487-8849
ABOUT THE SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY:
Recipient of the 2012 Regional Theatre Tony Award, the Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) has become one of the nation’s leading theatre companies. Today, STC is synonymous with artistic excellence and making classical theatre more accessible.
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Kahn and Managing Director Chris Jennings, STC’s innovative approach to Shakespeare and other classic playwrights has earned it the reputation as the nation’s premier classical theatre company. By focusing on works with profound themes, complex characters and poetic language written by Shakespeare, his contemporaries and the playwrights he influenced, the Company’s artistic mission is unique among theatre companies: to present theatre of scope and size in an imaginative, skillful and accessible American style that honors the playwrights’ language and intentions while viewing their work through a 21st-century lens.
A leader in arts education, STC has a stable of initiatives that teach and excite learners of all ages, from school programs and acting classes to discussion series as well as accessible programs like the annual Free For All, one of STC’s most beloved annual traditions, allowing audiences to experience Shakespeare at no charge.
Located in our nation’s capital, STC performs in two theatres, the Lansburgh Theatre and Sidney Harman Hall in downtown Washington, D.C., creating a dynamic, cultural hub of activity that showcases STC as well as outstanding local performing arts groups and nationally renowned organizations. STC moved into the 451-seat Lansburgh Theatre in March 1992, after six years in residency in the Folger Library’s Elizabethan theatre. At that time the Penn Quarter neighborhood was not considered desirable by many; since then, STC has helped drive its revitalization. The 774-seat Sidney Harman Hall opened in October 2007.
