Portland's not-for-profit Play On Shakespeare has announced their lineup for the Winter and Spring of 2024.
Building upon their mission to translate Shakespeare for modern audiences, their Signal Award-winning Play On Podcasts initiative will continue to adapt the Bard's work for the audio medium with Romeo & Juliet as translated by Hansol Jung and directed by Dustin Wills, with radio play by Catherine Eaton. Episode 1 will be released December 18, with joint production by NAATCO and Two River Theater. Additional episodes will be released in the new year.
READ: Why Rewrite Shakespeare Into Modern English? Why Not, Says Playwright Hansol Jung
Their in-person programming will begin in the spring, with a production of Measure for Measure playing Portland State University February 29 through March 9, 2024. Directed by Karin Magaldi, the production will feature Aditi Brennan Kapil's translation, which explores the corrupting influence of power on even the most virtuous of individuals.
April will bring Hamlet to the stage as a collaboration between the Portland Shakespeare Project and the Actors Conservatory. Translated by Lisa Peterson, the classic will be directed by Michael Mendelson, and play 21ten Theatre in Portland April 10 through April 21, 2024.
Lastly, Shakespeare's rarely produced tragedy Coriolanus will be presented by Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Portland Center Stage April 20 through May 19. Produced in association with upstart crow collective, the play (featuring both adaptation and direction by Rosa Joshi, and translation by Sean San José) centers on the war hero Coriolanus as he is driven to defend and then destroy his own country. The production will feature a female and non-binary ensemble, and a movement-focused staging.
Additionally the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies will continue to release Play On Shakespeare’s translations in print. All 39 titles will be published by early 2024.
