The Winter’s Tale at BAM Harvey Theater

Sculptures breathe and kings weep in the Bard’s late masterpiece of wit and wisdom. In honor
of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, director Declan Donnellan and Cheek by Jowl
(’Tis Pity She’s a Whore, 2012 Winter/Spring) tackle the dizzying scope of The Winter’s Tale—countless hairpin turns from violence to farce, through multiple countries and over the course of 16 years—with trademark searing intellect and a fiercely contemporary approach.

When King Leontes suspects his wife of infidelity, he throws her in prison and initiates a chain of events that destroys his once-happy family. But can he find redemption for his crimes? Can his senseless acts of violence somehow be undone? When is a man no better than a beast? Donnellan and his cast take up Shakespeare’s most fundamental questions in this tour-de-force interpretation, testing the limits of hope, humanity, and our capacity for wonder.