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From the Director

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Labyrinth: A Legacy of Language, an original piece for Shakespeare’s 450th Birthday. It is our great joy and delight to offer this show as a tribute to his inspiration and ongoing influence through the last four and half centuries.

In thinking about his birthday celebrations, what better way to celebrate than to bring together works that speak of his influence and at the same time speak of their own integrity. Shakespeare’s exceptional and original grasp of the human condition; its excesses and depravity; its joy and heroism all gave birth to new ideas and possibilities of storytelling for the stage. Gathering and culling through playwrights who claim him as a direct influence was an overwhelming yet awesome task. Each of the four playwrights we chose were and are still mavericks in their own right; owing a debt of gratitude to Shakespeare’s influence. It is true—Ophelia’s quote, “We know what we are, but know not what we may be. “His genius opened the door for others to explore and expand drama and its reach to greater truth.

In the course of the show you will see some very specific stylistic choices. Besides looking for playwrights influenced by Shakespeare, we wanted there to be a unifying theme and so all of the eight scenes grapple with the issues of forgiveness and or revenge. The rhythm of Labyrinth takes its direction from its name, starting with a work from the last thirty years and traveling back in time until it reaches the center and core of works from Shakespeare. Keeping consistent with the nature of celebrating these 450 years, a series of windows from those years make up the set as a way to view the show—looking through these windows of time, so to speak.

Thank you for joining with us on this birthday celebration.