BAM Presents the U.S. Premiere of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, Directed by Edward Hall The acclaimed Watermill Theatre (UK) production features Hall’s all-male company, Propeller BAM 2005 Next Wave Festival is sponsored by Altria Group, Inc. Major support for The Winter’s Tale is provided by the British Council. The Winter’s Tale By William Shakespeare A Watermill Theatre (UK) production by Propeller Directed by Edward Hall Designed by Michael Pavelka Lighting by Ben Ormerod BAM Harvey Theater Nov 2—5 at 7:30pm Nov 5 at 2pm Nov 6 at 3pm Tickets: $25, 45, 60, 70 Call 718.636.4100 or visit www.bam.org BAMdialogue with Edward Hall Nov 2 at 6pm BAM Rose Cinemas Tickets: $8 ($4 for Friends of BAM) Brooklyn, September 20, 2005— Director Edward Hall returns to BAM for the 2005 Next Wave Festival with his all-male, U.K. theater troupe, Propeller, in a masterfully gripping production of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale. According to The Telegraph (UK), “Propeller’s collective ingenuity, combined with their propensity to break into song, makes [The Winter’s Tale] an evening that delights the heart as much as it stimulates the mind.” Edward Hall’s The Winter’s Tale Photo Credit: Alastair Muir High resolution images are available at http://www.bam.org/ bampress/performances/NW06/TheWintersTale.aspx After directing Propeller’s U.S. debut at BAM last year in a highly acclaimed A Midsummer Night’s Dream, described by the New York Observer as “the finest Shakespeare in years [and] one of the happiest experiences we could wish for at the theater,” Edward Hall subsequently returned to New York with Rose Rage, an ingenious reworking of the Henry VI trilogy. Also having recently made his Broadway directorial debut with A Streetcar Named Desire, Hall has established his talent for presenting theater with resounding freshness and originality. Known for its hilarious, yet deeply nuanced performances of Shakespeare’s works and their devotion to staging Shakespeare as it was originally performed—without women—members of Propeller tackle this late romance with new vitality and plenty of gender-bending hilarity. Written in the twilight of his career, Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale is a comedy with cruel and ironic tragedy at its core. Leontes, king of Sicilia, becomes consumed with an unfounded suspicion that his wife, Hermione, has been unfaithful with his best friend Polixenes, king of Bohemia. The king sends his friend into exile and his wife into prison, where she gives birth to their daughter Perdita. The princess is shunned by her father but returns to reconcile both families by marrying Polixenes’ son Florizel. Along the way, there is the intervention of a kind old shepherd, young love in bloom, and uproarious pastoral scenes full of troublesome sheep in “a production that, in its finest hour, is unforgettable,” says The Times (U.K.). Six performances of The Winter’s Tale will take place in the BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton St.) Nov 2—5 at 7:30pm; Nov 5 at 2pm; and Nov 6 at 3pm. Tickets, priced at $25, 45, 60, and 70, may be purchased by calling BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or by visiting www.bam.org. About the artists Director Edward Hall, a member of a major theatrical family, made his U.S. directorial debut in 2003 with Rose Rage at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre—a production which he and Roger Warren adapted from Henry VI parts I, II, and III. This production subsequently transferred to the Duke Theater in New York, where it received four Jeff Awards including Best Play, Best Director, and Best Ensemble Cast. The original production, for which he received an Olivier Award Nomination for Best Director and the TMA Award for Best Touring Production, opened with Propeller at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury, UK and subsequently toured to the Haymarket Theatre in London, as well as internationally. He made his N.Y. directorial debut with Propeller at BAM with A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Spring 2004, which was nominated for several Drama Desk Awards. The production originated at the Watermill Theatre and toured to the West End, where it won the TMA Award for Best Touring Production. A former acting director with the Royal Shakespeare Company, he has won a TMA/Barclays Theatre Best Director Award for Twelfth Night at the Watermill Theatre and a South Bank Show Award for Henry V for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Recent highlights include directing Natasha Richardson on Broadway in A Streetcar Named Desire and Kenneth Branagh in an acclaimed National Theatre production of Edmond. He also recently directed the Olivier Award nominated production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the National Theater. Future projects include Kaufman and Hart’s Once in a Lifetime at the National Theatre and his first television drama, Miss Marple—Sleeping Murder for Granada TV in 2006. The all-male Propeller was formed in 1997 in conjunction with the Watermill Theatre to create an ensemble for Edward Hall’s Henry V and has been praised for its original interpretations of Shakespeare’s works over the past eight years including Henry V, The Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night, Rose Rage, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and most recently, The Winter’s Tale. Both Henry V and The Comedy of Errors toured extensively in Europe, South America, and the Far East. Hall and Propeller aim to perform Shakespeare’s plays with a contemporary aesthetic while maintaining emphasis on the spoken word, and to continue developing relationships between performers and audiences. The Watermill Theatre (UK), a year-round, regional producing theater created in the mid-60s, is a converted 19th-century mill situated in gardens beside the Lambourn river in the Berkshire countryside. The Watermill Theatre has brought new energy to its historic space, featuring a wide range of productions, youth theater, education, and outreach. A floor plan conducive to the Shakespearean presentation of plays “in the round” and the building’s small size provide the opportunity for theatergoers to receive an intimately authentic theater experience. The theater’s professional reputation for producing quality work attracts high caliber artists and production personnel, which in turn creates opportunities for works to tour throughout the world. One week after the Watermill Theatre’s production of The Winter’s Tale opens at BAM this fall, their production of Sweeny Todd will open on Broadway and feature Tony Award winners Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris. Credits Major support for The Winter’s Tale is provided by the British Council. Leadership support for BAM Theater is provided by The Shubert Foundation. Programming in the BAM Harvey Theater is endowed by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. BAM 2005 Next Wave Festival is sponsored by Altria Group, Inc. BAM thanks its many donors and sponsors, including: New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The New York City Council, Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council, Brooklyn Delegation of the U.S. House of Representatives, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, The Estate of Richard B. Fisher, The Howard Gilman Foundation, The Starr Foundation, Skirball Foundation, Time Warner, Inc., Bloomberg, The Kovner Foundation, and Robert W. Wilson Foundation. JPMorgan Chase is BAM’s Lead Corporate Partner. New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge is the official hotel for the Next Wave Festival. Yamaha is the official piano of BAM. R/GA is the sponsor of BAM.org. General information BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, BAMcafé, and Shakespeare & Co. BAMshop are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn’s only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafé, operated by Great Performances, also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music on Friday and Saturday nights. A $21 three-course dinner at BAMcafé is available Thu-Sat for BAM Rose Cinemas ticket holders (day of screening only). BAMcafé is open Thursday-Saturday from 5pm-closing. Additionally, BAMcafé is open two hours prior to all Howard Gilman Opera House and Harvey Theater performances. Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue; D, M, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Train: Long Island Railroad to Flatbush Avenue Bus: B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM For ticket and BAMbus information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit www.bam.org. ## ## ## ## .