In a hidden room somewhere within 311 W. 7th Street. 
Every weekend in November.
Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm.
Sundays at 5pm.
Industry Night Thursday Nov 12th, 8pm.
Running time: 120 minutes.
Tickets: www.hiddenroomtheatre.com

In 1681, Nahum Tate took an “unpolisht jewel,” Shakespeare’s King Lear, and modified it for Restoration tastes. The romantic result replaced its original for 157 years.

Now rarely-seen, Tate’s oddity dominated the English stage, eclipsing Shakespeare’s version until the 1800’s. With music, romance, added scenes, cut characters, sweeping fights, and a gloriously surprising ending, Tate’s Lear is a wild romp that still maintains the heart and theme of Shakespeare’s original. 

World-renowned scholar, author, and Oxford Don of Early Modern Drama, Professor Tiffany Stern returns to her work with Austin’s Hidden Room Theatre as the Head of Research for Tate’s Lear, guiding the project’s exploration and understanding of Restoration Theatre practices including the integration of women, textual alterations to classic plays, and a grander style of presentation. 

Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper (Head of Research and Higher Education at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London and Hidden Room board member) lends her authoritative knowledge on gesture to the project. In advance of Dr. Karim-Cooper’s book The Hand on the Shakespearean Stage: Gesture, Touch, and the Spectacle of Dismemberment the Hidden Room will be experimenting with the meaning and application of actor gesture. 

Some of Austin’s most celebrated actors, designers, and musicians are coming together to make this project come alive. The cast includes Ryan Crowder, Judd Farris, Liz Beckham, Julia Lorenz-Olson, Nathan Jerkins, Brock England, Jennifer Coy, Robert Matney, Rommel Sulit, Jill Swanson, Toby Minor, Jeff Mills, and Reagan Tankersley. The American Shakespeare Center’s Jenny McNee takes on the role of Head Costume Designer with partnership from Hidden Room’s own Jennifer Rose Davis. Musician Howard Burkett leads the charge on music research and design. Beth Burns directs.

Tate’s Lear unveils scenes for some of the world’s most prestigious early modern theatre scholars at the American Shakespeare Center’s Blackfriars Conference before beginning its Austin run. 
Tickets on sale now: www.hiddenroomtheatrecom