American Shakespeare Center will complete its 2022 season with tales of magic and courage, fate and faith, triumph and redemption, including two Shakespeare classics tossed by stormy seas, The Tempest and Pericles, Prince of Tyre; Aimé Césaire’s devilishly funny satire Une Tempête; and a beloved audience favorite, ASC’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
The Tempest
By William Shakespeare
Runs Sept. 23 – Nov. 19
Political exile, revenge, and magic meld in this edge-of-your-seat thriller, capped by a master manipulator’s calculated lesson in the folly of hatred.
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
By William Shakespeare
Runs Sept. 30 – Nov. 20
A good man confronted by evil and loss, Pericles is driven to the sea again and again in this epic
tale of heroism and the quest for love.
The Tempest and Pericles will be produced in ASC’s “Actors Renaissance” style, in which the actors stage the show, in the method used by Shakespeare’s own original company. Audiences have multiple opportunities to see both shows, including in a single weekend.
Une Tempête
By Aimé Césaire
Runs Oct. 27 – Nov. 19
This mordantly funny adaptation tilts The Tempest on its head, approaching the story of Prospero and Caliban from a post-colonial perspective. Written in the stormy ‘60s, this seldom staged work’s social justice message takes on new urgency in today’s world. Directed by Dawn Monique Williams (Aurora Theatre, Berkeley; Oregon Shakespeare Festival).
A Christmas Carol
By Charles Dickens
Runs Dec. 1-30
A favorite with audiences every year, ASC’s adaptation of the Dickens classic starts with a rollicking holiday singalong, and then takes the audience on a thrill ride through the haunting and ultimate redemption of that most miserly miser, Ebenezer Scrooge.
ASC Artistic Director Brandon Carter notes the juxtaposition of magic and miracles, loss and hope, faith and redemption in the plays chosen for the season. In particular, he says, the pairing of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Aimé Césaire’s Une Tempête stir up a potent brew for discussion.
“We so often overlook the race, politics and colonialism in Shakespeare’s magical and valedictory Tempest. By pairing it with Une Tempête, we see how Shakespeare still speaks with urgency, and we invite the community to join us as we work through the issues that divide and unite us.”
American Shakespeare Center performs in its Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, the world’s only re-creation of Shakespeare’s original indoor theater.
Tickets are on sale now online or by calling (877) 682-4236.
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Crystal Graham
