Theatre

Exiled barber Sweeney Todd returns to London seeking revenge on the corrupt judge who ruined his life. He teams up with the struggling pie-shop owner Mrs. Lovett, who suggests a gruesome way to dispose of his victims by baking them into meat pies, leading to a dark, operatic tale of vengeance.

Blanche DuBois, a fading Southern belle with a dark past, moves into her sister Stella’s cramped New Orleans apartment. She immediately clashes with Stella’s brutish husband, Stanley Kowalski. The play explores the brutal collision between fragile romanticism and harsh, animalistic reality.

Tom Wingfield looks back on his life in St. Louis with his overbearing mother, Amanda, and his fragile, shy sister, Laura. Amanda’s obsession with finding a gentleman caller for Laura leads to a disastrous evening that shatters the family's illusions, leaving them trapped in their own memories and disappointments.

The wealthy Pollitt family gathers at their Mississippi estate to celebrate Big Daddy's birthday while he is dying of cancer. His son Brick, an alcoholic, ignores his wife Maggie’s sexual frustrations. The play uncovers a web of lies regarding inheritance, sexuality, and family secrets.

Using a minimalist stage and a Stage Manager narrator, the play depicts the everyday lives of the citizens of Grover’s Corners. It follows George Gibbs and Emily Webb through childhood, marriage, and death, emphasizing the beauty of ordinary moments that humans often fail to appreciate while alive.

The six wives of Henry VIII take to the stage in a high energy pop concert to reclaim their stories from history. Each queen competes to prove she suffered the most at the hands of the King while ultimately celebrating their collective female power.

A surrealist farce that blends high philosophy with a murder mystery involving a team of gymnasts. The play centers on George Moore, a professor of moral philosophy, who is struggling to prove the existence of God while a murder occurs in his home. His wife, a retired musical star, is found with a dead gymnast in her bedroom, leading to a chaotic investigation. The play is a dizzying mix of intellectual debate, physical comedy, and social satire, exploring the collision between absolute morality and logical positivism in a crumbling, post-modern society.

This sophisticated drama explores the nature of love and fidelity through the life of Henry, a witty playwright. When Henry’s own life begins to mirror the scenes of adultery he writes for the stage, the boundaries between fiction and reality blur. The play moves beyond Stoppard’s typical intellectualism to offer a deeply emotional look at the pain of betrayal and the search for authentic connection. It is famed for its "play-within-a-play" structure and its clever use of a cricket bat as a metaphor for good writing, remains one of his most frequently revived and beloved works.

Widely considered Stoppard’s masterpiece, Arcadia toggles between 1809 and the present day at Sidley Park, an English country estate. In the past, a precocious student and her tutor explore mathematics and poetry; in the present, researchers attempt to reconstruct those events. The play elegantly weaves together chaos theory, landscape gardening, thermodynamics, and Romanticism. As the timelines eventually converge, the play reflects on the elusiveness of historical truth and the heat death of the universe. It is a profound, heartbreaking, and intellectually dazzling work that balances rigorous scientific inquiry with a deeply moving human story about the passage of time.

Unique in its scale, this play for actors and orchestra was written in collaboration with composer André Previn. It is set in a Soviet mental hospital where a political dissident and a genuine lunatic share a cell. The twist is that the lunatic imagines he has a full orchestra at his beck and call, which the audience actually hears on stage. It is a powerful, darkly comic indictment of the Soviet practice of using psychiatry to silence political dissent, using the metaphor of musical harmony to discuss state-mandated conformity and individual freedom.

Adapted from his radio play 'In the Native State', this drama uses dual timelines to explore the relationship between Britain and India. In 1930, an English poet, Flora Crewe, travels to India and develops a complex bond with an Indian painter. Decades later, Flora’s sister is visited by a biographer attempting to uncover the truth behind Flora’s time in the East. The play examines the legacy of colonialism, the nature of artistic representation, and the gaps in historical record. It is a lyrical, atmospheric piece that captures the heat and complexity of the Anglo-Indian encounter with great sensitivity.

Set in Zurich in 1917, the play centers on Henry Carr, a minor British consular official who recalls his interactions with James Joyce, Tristan Tzara, and Vladimir Lenin. The narrative is filtered through Carr's unreliable and aging memory, resulting in a fractured, hilarious pastiche of art, politics, and revolution. Using the structure of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, Stoppard explores the purpose of art in a time of global upheaval. The play is a whirlwind of limericks, debates on Dadaism, and ideological clashes, showcasing Stoppard’s ability to weave complex historical figures into a brilliant, comic tapestry.

This sprawling epic spans two decades, moving between Cambridge, England, and Prague, Czechoslovakia. It follows the lives of a Marxist professor and his Czech student against the backdrop of the Prague Spring and the Velvet Revolution. The play uses the music of The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd—and the subculture of rock music—as a symbol of resistance against Communist repression. It explores the tension between political ideology and the biological reality of human nature, culminating in a triumphant celebration of the fall of the Iron Curtain and the power of individual spirit.

A poignant, intellectual drama focusing on the life and death of the poet and scholar A.E. Housman. The play begins with an elderly Housman being ferried across the Styx by Charon, where he looks back on his younger self at Oxford. It explores his unrequited love for a fellow student and his dedication to Latin scholarship. Themes of Victorian morality, the trial of Oscar Wilde, and the invention of romantic love in literature are woven together. It is a deeply moving meditation on the pain of a life lived through books rather than emotional fulfillment.

This absurdist, existential tragicomedy reimagines Shakespeare’s Hamlet through the eyes of two minor courtiers. As the duo wanders the halls of Elsinore, they grapple with fate, free will, and their own impending mortality, often through witty wordplay and coin-tossing games. Their confusion mirrors the audience’s own existential dread, as they remain pawns in a narrative they cannot control. Stoppard’s breakout work remains a landmark of 20th-century drama, blending high-brow philosophy with vaudevillian humor. It is celebrated for its linguistic agility and its profound exploration of the human condition, solidifying Stoppard’s reputation as a master of intellectual theater.

Stoppard’s most personal play is a sweeping epic following a wealthy Jewish family in Vienna over fifty years. Spanning from the optimism of 1899 through the horrors of the Holocaust to 1955, the drama traces the family’s assimilation, cultural contributions, and eventual devastation. The play serves as an exploration of identity, memory, and the tragic consequences of forgetting one's heritage. Drawing on Stoppard’s late-life discovery of his own Jewish roots, it is a sobering, large-scale production that trades his usual wordplay for a devastatingly direct emotional impact, confronting the darkest chapter of the 20th century with grace.

Set in 1980s New York during the AIDS crisis, the play interweaves the lives of a gay man abandoned by his lover, a Mormon couple struggling with identity, and the infamous lawyer Roy Cohn. It blends realism with fantasy to explore politics, faith, and the future of America.

Prince Hamlet returns home to Denmark to find his father murdered and his uncle on the throne. Visited by his father's ghost, Hamlet descends into a spiral of indecision, feigned madness, and philosophical contemplation as he plots a revenge that ultimately destroys the entire royal court.

As King Henry IV faces a rebellion from the North his son Prince Hal lives a dissolute life in London taverns with the cowardly but charismatic knight Sir John Falstaff. The play culminates in Hal's transformation into a warrior at the Battle of Shrewsbury. It is widely considered one of Shakespeare's greatest histories for its blend of high politics and low comedy.

The Wars of the Roses erupt in full-scale carnage as the crown passes back and forth between the houses of York and Lancaster. The play introduces the future Richard III and ends with the temporary victory of the Yorkists and the murder of King Henry VI.

The poetic and indecisive King Richard II is deposed by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke (the future Henry IV). The play is written entirely in verse and examines the divine right of kings and the personal tragedy of a man unfit for the power he holds.

After a shipwreck Viola disguises herself as a man to serve Duke Orsino only to fall in love with him while he pines for the Countess Olivia. Olivia in turn falls for the disguised Viola leading to a hilarious tangle of mistaken identities. The play is a sophisticated comedy that explores the fluidity of gender the nature of love and the cruelty of practical jokes. It is often cited as Shakespeare’s most perfect comedy balancing festive joy with a touch of melancholy.

Helena a low-born ward of a French countess falls in love with the countess's son Bertram. After she miraculously cures the King of France he grants her any husband she chooses and she picks Bertram who flees in disgust. The play follows Helena's clever and controversial bed trick to win his affection and legitimate her marriage.

A sweeping historical tragedy depicting the doomed romance between the Roman triumvir Mark Antony and the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. As their passion interferes with their political duties Octavius Caesar wages war against them leading to a tragic double suicide. The play is celebrated for its lush language and the towering complex character of Cleopatra.

Four young lovers and a group of amateur actors wander into an enchanted forest where they become pawns in a dispute between the King and Queen of the Fairies. Through the use of a magic love potion chaos ensues as affections shift wildly before order is restored. The play is a whimsical and magical exploration of love imagination and the world of dreams. It remains one of Shakespeare’s most frequently performed and beloved comedies for all ages.

A legendary Roman general wins great victories but is banished from Rome after his arrogance and contempt for the common people turn the citizens against him. He joins his former enemies to seek revenge on his home city. The play is a stark political tragedy examining the conflict between individual pride and civic duty.

A Venetian merchant borrows money from a Jewish moneylender Shylock to help a friend woo a wealthy heiress. When the debt cannot be paid Shylock demands a pound of flesh as per their contract leading to a dramatic courtroom confrontation. The play is a problem comedy that deals with themes of justice mercy and anti-Semitism. It is famous for Portia’s quality of mercy speech and the complex controversial character of Shylock.

Two young star-crossed lovers from feuding noble families in Verona fall into a whirlwind romance that ends in a double suicide. Their deaths ultimately reconcile their warring families but at a devastating cost. The play is the world's most famous exploration of romantic love and the destructive power of ancestral hatred. It is celebrated for its poetic beauty and its timeless depiction of youthful passion and tragic fate.

A direct sequel that follows the continuing rebellion against King Henry IV and the aging Falstaff's attempts to maintain his influence. As the King dies Hal must finally cast off his old companions to become the legendary Henry V. The play is more elegiac and melancholic than its predecessor focusing on the passage of time and the weight of responsibility.

Petruchio, a fortune hunter, attempts to tame the sharp-tongued Katherine into marriage, while her sister Bianca is pursued by multiple suitors. It is a controversial comedy of gender roles and psychological warfare.

Two cousins and best friends, Palamon and Arcite, are imprisoned in Athens where they both fall in love with the same woman, Emilia, turning their lifelong bond into a deadly rivalry. It is a collaboration between Shakespeare and John Fletcher, based on Chaucer's The Knight's Tale.

Rosalind flees her uncle’s court disguised as a boy and escapes to the Forest of Arden where she encounters the exiled Duke and her lover Orlando. In the forest social hierarchies dissolve as characters explore the nature of love poetry and the seven ages of man. The play is a pastoral comedy that celebrates the freedom of the natural world over the corruption of the court. It features Rosalind one of Shakespeare’s most intelligent and dominant female protagonists.

A noble Moorish general in the Venetian army is manipulated by his envious ensign Iago into believing his wife Desdemona has been unfaithful. Driven by the green-eyed monster of jealousy Othello murders his innocent bride before discovering the truth. The play is a domestic tragedy that explores themes of race manipulation and the fragility of trust. It features one of literature's most sophisticated and chilling villains in the character of Iago.

The deposed Duke Prospero uses magic to shipwreck his enemies on a remote island where he has lived in exile with his daughter. Through illusions and spirits he orchestrates a confrontation that leads to forgiveness and the restoration of his dukedom. Often considered Shakespeare's farewell to the stage the play explores themes of colonialism reconciliation and the power of art. It is celebrated for its lyrical beauty and the iconic character of the spirit Ariel.

The young King Henry V leads a weary and outnumbered English army into France to claim the French throne culminating in the miraculous victory at the Battle of Agincourt. The play explores the burdens of leadership the ethics of war and the power of national unity. It is famous for its rousing patriotic speeches and the Chorus who asks the audience to use their imagination to create the scale of the war on stage. It remains the definitive theatrical celebration of English national heroism.

The internal strife in England worsens as the Duke of York begins his claim to the throne and the saintly King Henry VI proves unable to control his ambitious nobles. The play features the famous Jack Cade rebellion and the murder of the Duke of Gloucester.

Two sets of identical twins separated at birth arrive in the same city of Ephesus leading to a series of wild mishaps and mistaken identities involving money, romance, and even demonic possession. It is Shakespeare's shortest and most farcical play, drawing heavily on classical Roman comedy.

An aging King decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters based on their flattery. When his youngest daughter refuses to play along he banishes her triggering a descent into madness as his other daughters betray him. The play is a devastating examination of family cruelty old age and the indifference of the universe. It is often cited as Shakespeare’s most demanding and profound tragedy regarding human suffering.

A Roman general returns from war and executes the eldest son of the Queen of the Goths, triggering a gruesome cycle of revenge involving rape, mutilation, and cannibalism. It is Shakespeare's bloodiest play, modeled after the revenge tragedies popular in the late 16th century.

Petruchio a fortune seeker attempts to tame the headstrong and sharp-tongued Katherine into becoming a submissive wife. Meanwhile Katherine's younger sister Bianca is pursued by multiple suitors in a more traditional subplot. The play is a controversial comedy of gender roles and social expectations. While its themes are heavily debated in modern times it remains a staple of the stage for its physical comedy and the complex power dynamic between its two central characters.

Two best friends Valentine and Proteus travel to Milan where Proteus betrays his friend and his own fiancée to pursue Valentine's love. It is one of Shakespeare's earliest comedies, exploring themes of male friendship, betrayal, and the absurdity of young love.

When the Duke of Vienna departs he leaves the strict Angelo in charge who revives old laws against lechery. He sentences a young man to death but offers to spare him if the man's sister, a novice nun named Isabella, will sleep with him. It is a dark problem play exploring justice, mercy, and sexual hypocrisy.

King Leontes is consumed by irrational jealousy and accuses his pregnant wife of infidelity, leading to her apparent death and the loss of his daughter. Sixteen years later the family is miraculously reunited through magic and forgiveness. It is a late romance famous for the stage direction Exit, pursued by a bear.

Spurred by a prophecy and his wife's ambition a Scottish general murders his King to take the throne. His reign becomes a bloodbath of paranoia and tyranny as he attempts to secure his power against inevitable fate. The Scottish Play is a chilling study of the psychological effects of guilt and the corrupting nature of unchecked political ambition. It is famous for its supernatural elements and its dark brooding atmosphere.