Theatre News Wire

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) brings two of the world's finest theater companies to Chicago audiences this spring with back-to-back productions for the World's Stage Series. Ireland's Druid Theatre Company returns to Chicago Shakespeare with The Cripple of Inishmaan March 16-27, 2011, in CST's Courtyard Theater, after a successful run of their darkly comic The Walworth Farce at CST in 2009. Druid also presents a special two-night engagement of Give Me Your Hand on March 20 and 27, 2011, Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare, providing an imaginative look at the paintings in London's National Gallery through the unique insights of Irish poet Paul Durcan. Immediately following Druid's productions, CST presents the National Theatre of Scotland's internationally-acclaimed Black Watch March 29-April 10, 2011, at Chicago's Broadway Armory (5917 N. Broadway). An environmental, intensely physical production exploring the legendary Scottish regiment, Black Watch will find a suitable home at the Armory-a space used for military training by the State of Illinois during World War I, and the only armory playing host to this visceral production through its 2011 tour.

Up first in March, Druid Theatre Company returns to CST's World's Stage March 16-27, 2011, with its celebrated production of The Cripple of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh, Tony and Olivier Award-winning playwright of The Pillowman. In this savagely funny and brutally honest tale staged by Druid Artistic Director Garry Hynes, a Hollywood documentary crew lands on the impoverished island of Inishmaan where, amidst the gossip and gibes of his eccentric neighbors, the ambitious orphan Billy "Cripple" Claven vies for his shot at stardom. First staged by Hynes for Druid in September 2008, The Cripple of Inishmaan toured Ireland and the UK, and went on to attract the highest attendance ever for a production at the Atlantic Theater in New York. It subsequently received numerous New York accolades including an Obie Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, two Lucille Lortel Awards and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance. Druid Theatre Company also presents a special two-night engagement of Give Me Your Hand on March 20 and 27, 2011, at 7:30 p.m. In this imaginative production, two of Ireland's greatest actors, Dermot Crowley and Dearbhla Molloy, take audiences on a tour through London's National Gallery, sharing the insights and stories of Irish poet Paul Durcan. Tickets for Give Me Your Hand Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare are $25. Tickets for The Cripple of Inishmaan in CST's Courtyard Theater are $46-$56, with special discounts available for groups of 10 or more. All patrons receive a 40% parking discount at Navy Pier garages.

Following Druid's productions, CST welcomes the National Theatre of Scotland's powerful Black Watch March 29-April 10, 2011. The internationally-acclaimed production has garnered 22 awards, including the New York Drama Circle Award for Best Foreign Play and four Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Director, Best Theatre Choreography, Best Play and Best Sound Design. Black Watch is presented in partnership with the Chicago Park District at its Broadway Armory, which will create a dramatic military environment for the production as it hurtles audiences from a pool room in Fife to an armored wagon in Iraq. Weaving together stories based on playwright Gregory Burke's interviews with former soldiers who served in Iraq, Black Watch is directed by John Tiffany, associate director of the National Theatre of Scotland. Movement for the production is by Steven Hoggett, co-founder and artistic director of Frantic Assembly (London), whose choreography for Green Day's American Idiot is now playing on Broadway. Tickets for Black Watch at Chicago's Broadway Armory (5917 N. Broadway) are $38-$45, with special discounts available for groups of 10 or more. Convenient public parking is available surrounding the Armory.