The Winter’s Tale

In December, the award-winning British company Cheek by Jowl returns to Chicago with a new production of one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. Writing The Winter’s Tale after completing his great tragedies, this is a new Shakespeare. Unity of time, place and action are hurled aside as we move across Europe—from court to country, from high tragedy to low comedy—in a story that spans fourteen years. A delusional and paranoid king tears his family apart, but the struggle for redemption yields flickers of hope. Initial darkness gives way to joy as Time leads the characters to a shattering conclusion.