The Plays

Pericles by William Shakespeare (click here for online text)
After solving the riddle that hides a shameful secret, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, is forced to flee a tyrant's wrath.  A storm at sea brings love into his life; another snatches it away.  Many years must pass before fate guides the wandering hero to a poignant reunion with the family he thought he had lost forever.

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare (click here for online text)
There's no shortage of suitors for the lovely Bianca -- no one wants her evil tempered sister, Kate.  Unfortunately, Bianca's father insists she can't be married till Kate has been properly hitched -- and Kate swears wild horses couldn't drag her to the altar.  But then along comes Petruchio, looking for a wife. Graham Abbey as Petruchio.

Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare (click here for online text)
As the Greek army lay siege to their city, a prince of Troy and the daughter of a priest exchange vows of everlasting love.  But time is always the final conqueror of romantic illusions, and in Shakespeare's darkly satiric rewriting of heroic legend, love and honor are just two more casualties of war. Director: Richard Monette. Peter Donaldson as Ulysses. Claire Jullien as Cressida.

Present Laughter by Noel Coward (no online text available)
With his African tour imminent and his mirror conveying alarming intimations of middle age, star actor Garry Essendine is in a state of high anxiety.  As his world becomes a chaotic whirl of determined lovers, outraged associates and obsessed fans, can Garry hang on his place at the center of his own universe?  Brian Bedford directs and plays Garry Essendine. Michelle Giroux as Daphne.

Agamemnon by Aeschylus (click here for online text)
King Agamemnon, conqueror of Troy, returns home to Argos, where the memory of his father's unnatural crime still casts its fearful shadow over the house of Atreus.  Only the seer Cassandra senses the deadly hatred behind Queen Clytemnestra's extravagant words of welcome -- or foresees the horror that is to come.

The King and I by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II (an optional selection)
Cultural assumptions on both sides come under fire when Anna Leonowens, widow of a British army officer, becomes tutor to the children of the King of Siam.  But gradually the outspoken teacher and the autocratic monarch come to regard each other with mutual respect --and even with love. Lucy Peacock as Anna Leonowens.