Shakespeare & Company Presents Strindberg's CREDITORS

Shakespeare & Company presents August Strindberg's dark comedy Creditors, adapted by critically acclaimed playwright David Greig and directed by Nicole Ricciardi of last season's hit show 4000 Miles. In this production of what Strindberg calls his "most mature work," three characters must face their past, confronting love, debt, and deception. Performances run from July 19 - August 12 in the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre.

"August Strindberg often noted that he wrote plays to work things out in his own life," said director Nicole Ricciardi. "His interest lay in 'revealing the unconscious through the language of the conscious.' I'm drawn to projects for a similar reason: to bring something from my unconscious to my conscious. I first saw Mr. Greig's adaptation of Creditors in 2008. I recall recognizing myself, at moments, in all three of the characters. For who among us hasn't committed oneself to another, be it a friend or a lover, and lost something in the process? In some way, we all know the cost of love."

Nicole Ricciardi returns for her sixth season at Shakespeare & Company after last season's sell-out 4000 Miles. Past credits include The Taming (2017), The How and the Why (2016), and Cassandra Speaks (2013). The cast features Shakespeare & Company veterans Jonathan Epstein (Gustav), Ryan Winkles (Adolph), and Kristin Wold (Tekla). The creative team includes John McDermott (Set Design), James W. Bilnoski (Lighting Design), Deborah A. Brothers (Costume Design), Amy Altadonna (Sound Design), and Maegan Alyse Passafume (Stage Manager).

Strindberg is once again the master of the psychological chess match that is inhabiting each other's minds in this stunning translation by David Greig, recipient of the prestigious John Whiting Award. For Strindberg the cost of love runs deep, honesty is a disguise and everyone owes something to someone.

Tickets for Creditors are available online at shakespeare.org or by calling Shakespeare & Company's box office at (413) 637-3353. The Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible. Shakespeare & Company is located at 70 Kemble St. in Lenox, Massachusetts. In addition to Creditors, the Company's 2018 Summer Season includes three Shakespeare plays: Macbeth, As You Like It, and Love's Labor's Lost; plus Heisenberg by Laurence Olivier Award winner Simon Stephens; Mothers and Sons by Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally; and HIR by Pulitzer Prize finalist Taylor Mac.

AT A GLANCE
PRODUCTION: Creditors
PLAYWRIGHT: August Strindberg
ADAPTOR: David Greig
DIRECTOR: Nicole Ricciardi
SET DESIGNER: John McDermott
LIGHTING DESIGNER: James W. Bilnoski
COSTUME DESIGNER: Deborah A. Brothers
SOUND DESIGNER: Amy Altadonna
STAGE MANAGER: Maegan Alyse Passafume

CAST MEMBERS
GUSTAV: Jonathan Epstein
ADOLPH: Ryan Winkles
TEKLA: Kristin Wold

SCHEDULE
JULY
Thursday, July 19 - 7:30 PM (preview)
Friday, July 20 - 7:30 PM (preview)
Saturday, July 21 - 7:30 PM (preview)
Sunday, July 22 - 3:00 PM (opening)
Tuesday, July 24 - 7:30 PM
Wednesday, July 25 - 3:00 PM
Thursday, July 26 - 7:30 PM
Friday, July 27 - 3:00 PM
Saturday, July 28 - 3:00 PM
Saturday, July 28 - 7:30 PM
Sunday, July 29 - 7:30 PM
Tuesday, July 31 - 7:30 PM

AUGUST
Wednesday, August 1 - 3:00 PM
Thursday, August 2 - 7:30 PM
Friday, August 3 - 3:00 PM
Saturday, August 4 - 3:00 PM
Saturday, August 4 - 7:30 PM
Sunday, August 5 - 7:30 PM
Tuesday, August 7 - 7:30 PM
Wednesday, August 8 - 7:30 PM
Thursday, August 9 - 7:30 PM
Friday, August 10 - 7:30 PM
Saturday, August 11 - 3:00 PM
Saturday, August 11 - 7:30 PM
Sunday, August 12 - 3:00 PM (closing)

ABOUT NICOLE RICCIARDI
(Director) S&Co: 4000 Miles, The Taming, The How and the Why, and Cassandra Speaks. Nicole has directed, assisted, and developed work at Primary Stages, Youngblood/Ensemble Studio Theatre, the Flea, the Drama Book Shop, Chelsea Repertory Lab, Two River Theater Company, Shadow Lawn Stage, Circle East, Bushwick Arts, Central Square Theatre (Boston), and the Irish Repertory Theater. She is on the faculty of The Theatre School at DePaul. MFA, Carnegie Mellon University.

Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish author and playwright whose work engaged the concepts of naturalism and expressionism. He was born in Stockholm on January 22, 1849, to an unsuccessful shipping agent and a maidservant. He attended the University of Uppsala, but he would often leave to act at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, teach, or write plays. He left Uppsala permanently in 1872 to work as a journalist and a librarian at the Royal Library in Stockholm. In 1879, Strindberg published his novel "The Red Room," making him famous in Sweden. His play Master Olof, a historical drama published in 1872, was finally performed in 1881, and he wrote several plays criticizing social conventions in Sweden, including Lucky Peter's Travels (1882), The Father (1887), Miss Julie (1888), Creditors (1888), The Stronger (1888), and Playing With Fire (1892). During the 1890s, Strindberg suffered from psychological and emotional stress, which he described in his novel "Inferno," that culminated in his adoption of mysticism. The post-"Inferno" period was more productive for Strindberg. He wrote thirty-six plays from 1898 to 1909, including To Damascus (1898), a trilogy, Gustav Vasa (1899), Erik The Fourteenth (1899), Easter (1900), The Dance of Death (1900), A Dream Play (1901), Queen Christina (1901), Storm (1907), The Ghost Sonata (1907), and The Great Highway (1909). He died in Stockholm on May 14, 1912.

David Greig is an acclaimed and award-winning playwright, whose plays include The Events (Traverse, Scotland, and Young Vic), The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart (Tron, National Theatre of Scotland), Midsummer (Traverse, Soho, and Tricycle), Dunsinane (RSC at Hampstead and National Theatre of Scotland), Damascus (Traverse, Scotland, and Tricycle), Outlying Islands (Traverse and Royal Court), The American Pilot (RSC), Pyrenees (Paines Plough), The Cosmonaut's Last Message to the Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Union (Donmar Warehouse and Paines Plough), and The Architect and Europe (Traverse). Adaptations include Creditors (Donmar Warehouse), The Bacchae (Edinburgh International Festival), Tintin in Tibet (Barbican, Playhouse, and UK Tour), When the Bulbul Stopped Singing (Traverse Theatre - Amnesty International Award, TapWater Award, and Herald Angel), Caligula (Donmar Warehouse), and Peter Pan (National Theatre of Scotland, Traverse, and Barbican). David is currently under commission to write new plays for The Royal Court Theatre and the National Theatre of Scotland and is developing an original television series with co-creators David Harrower and John Crowley for Sister Pictures. He became Artistic Director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh in 2016.

Located in the beautiful Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, Shakespeare & Company is one of the leading Shakespeare festivals of the world. Founded in 1978, the organization attracts over 40,000 patrons annually. The Company is also home to an internationally renowned Center for Actor Training and award-winning Education Program. More information is available at www.shakespeare.org

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