The Winter’s Tale

You’ve never seen Shakespeare done like this before…Simultaneously a raucous, bawdy comedy and an arresting, powerful tragedy, William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale has been captivating audiences for over 350 years.King Leontes reigns over a successful kingdom, adores his pregnant queen, Hermione, and enjoys the companionship of his childhood friend, King Polixenes. All changes when Leontes becomes convinced that Polixenes and Hermione are having a secret affair. Polixenes flees for his life; Hermione faces trial for adultery and both she and her young son Mamilius die of shock and grief from the ordeal. Fast-forward sixteen years to Polixenes’ kingdom, where Perdita, Hermione and Leontes’ daughter, cast out by Leontes at birth in a fit of rage, has grown up a peasant but finds herself in love with the prince Florizel. Their union forbidden by Polixenes, Perdita and Florizel elope to Leontes’ kingdom. Father and daughter reunite, old friends reconcile, and young lovers marry, joining two kingdoms into one—a comedic end to a tragic beginning. This fall’s production re-imagines this timeless tale in the context of one of the most dramatic events in recent history: the end of divided Germany with the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification, juxtaposing a Communist 1960’s East Germany with 1980’s West Germany, steeped in European rave culture. Following individual turmoil in the context of national upheaval, The Winter’s Tale contrasts two profoundly different cultures and time periods while examining the universal truths of what it means to transform and forgive.If you’d like to work on the show or have any questions, please email producer, Jill Carrera, at jill.carrera@yale.edu. Always happy to chat!BUY YOUR TICKETS AT https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?ticketing=yale.