Elm Shakespeare Will Stream CRY HAVOC! Next Week

New Haven's classical theatre company will present CRY HAVOC! via Zoom and Facebook Live on Thursday, May 6th at 7pm as the first installation of the theatre's free, online event series, Building a Brave New Theater: Holding Space and Giving Voice.

In his award-winning off-Broadway play, actor/veteran Stephan Wolfert uses Shakespeare to lead audiences on a theatrical journey. In the play, the audience meets Shakespeare's veterans. It examines both the cost of war and the cost of failing to reintegrate veterans back into their communities. Wolfert seamlessly weaves his personal story of service training, PTSD, addiction, and suicidal ideation, along with the stories of other military veterans and Shakespeare's text. Throughout the show, the suffering of veterans becomes ancient, and Shakespeare becomes modern. It is a personal tale of his revival of humanity. Following the performance is a discussion about Wolfert's work with veterans using acting, Shakespeare, and science-based approaches to address trauma. Registration is required at https://www.elmshakespeare.org/cry-havoc.

The performance seamlessly interweaves Shakespeare's famous speeches with personal experience. This tour-de-force performance, originally produced off-broadway, helps audiences understand the national crises faced when there is a failure in reintegrating veterans. After two years of paralysis from a high school sports injury. After six years in the United States Army. After a full-blown transition into a classic case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Stephan Wolfert hopped off an Amtrak train deep in the mountains of Montana. Far from home. Close to the middle of nowhere and unsure of how to go on. Until, as fate would literally have it, he stepped into a local theater and saw a production of William Shakespeare's Richard III. Over twenty years later, using Shakespeare's timeless words and a few of his own, actor/veteran Stephan Wolfert in Cry Havoc! leads us on an interactive journey to meet Shakespeare's veterans.

Content Warning: The performance is 75 minutes long and contains depictions of war, violence, and strong language. It also has humor, vulnerability, Shakespeare, and hope.

This online performance and discussion are presented by Elm Shakespeare Company. It is generously sponsored by the Elizabethan Club of Yale University and Webster Bank. This event is part of the event series, Building a Brave New Theatre: Holding Space and Giving Voice. Elm Shakespeare Company designed this series to understand and amplify BIPOC artists' experiences of Shakespeare's plays and ask critical questions raised after centuries of Bardolatry. This new installment seeks to continue the conversation.

Artistic Director Rebecca Goodheart is passionate about the complexity and importance of this series. "At the end of the day, we at Elm Shakespeare Company believe there is transformative power in these plays, but they also have a complex legacy." Goodheart states, "we want to ask the tough questions, even as we celebrate. This second installment of the Brave New Theatre series is particularly interested in sharing with our community some amazing artists' approach to Shakespeare's plays in innovative and healing ways."

Registration is required for all events. For more information on the entire series: Building a Brave New Theatre: Holding Space and Giving Voice, visit: https://www.elmshakespeare.org/bnt2021

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