The Ithaca Shakespeare Company will perform Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale at the Kitchen Theatre March 7-16, 2025.
The production will be the Company’s first indoor production since 2016, when they presented both Henry V and Macbeth at the Hangar Theatre.
“It’s exciting for us to return to doing an indoor show in the winter after a number of years of focusing exclusively on our outdoor summer productions,” said ISC Artistic Director Stephen Ponton. “We love the summer shows, of course, but it always seems like it’s a very long time from one summer to the next. So we hope to be able to schedule a winter show each year to help bridge that gap.”
This will be the Company’s first time performing at the Kitchen Theatre and first time performing this particular play. “A big thank-you to everyone at the Kitchen for helping to make this possible,” said Ponton. “We’re really looking forward to working in that space. And what could be a more perfect play for our return to winter shows than The Winter’s Tale?”
The Winter’s Tale is one of Shakespeare’s late masterpieces, blending comedy, tragedy, pastoral, and romance into a richly layered whole.
A jealous king believes he has been betrayed by his wife and his oldest friend. His actions set off a chain of events that unfold over sixteen years and two countries.
There is a trial, a striking moment of "magic,” music and dance, the voice of Time itself, and the most (in)famous stage direction in all of Shakespeare.
Director Ross Haarstad will be taking on The Winter’s Tale for the second time. “The very first Shakespeare work I ever directed was The Winter’s Tale,” he said. “At the time I was fascinated by its duality. The first part is winter, tragic; the second summer, comic; and the last moments something totally different, magical and miraculous. Returning to it so many years later, I am astonished by its ferocity, its joy, its call for forgiveness. And it’s a hell of a field day for actors!”
For a peek behind the scenes and an introduction to some of the people creating the show, check out ISC's Facebook page here.
The Winter’s Tale will be the second installment in Ithaca Shakespeare’s Completing the Canon project, a multi-year plan to perform every play that Shakespeare wrote. The project began with the Company’s July 2024 outdoor production of All’s Well That Ends Well at Robert H. Treman State Park, and will continue until ISC has worked through all the remaining plays.
The Winter’s Tale will be performed March 7-8 and 12-15, 2025 at 7 pm, and March 9 and 16 at 2 pm.
Wednesday, March 12 is Discount Night - all tickets just $15!
Seating is limited.
Don't miss ISC's return to winter theatre and the next play in our Completing the Canon project!
