About the Show
How Shakespeare Saved My Life is an autobiographical-inspired theatrical work by playwright and Broadway performer Jacob Ming-Trent (Folger Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and directed by Tony Taccone (The Harder They Come).
In this tour-de-force performance, Ming-Trent dares to rescue himself from the “slings and arrows” of his past. Born with a gift for poetry but rejected as unfit to play the part of the poet, Ming-Trent’s search for home is relentless, and the results are by turns hilarious and tragic.
Invoking a host of artistic geniuses such as Biggie, Tupac, Shakespeare, and Basquiat, Ming-Trent takes us on a propulsive ride that reaffirms the power of language and music. It all adds up to how one man’s attempt to reclaim his life may connect to the deeper parts of ourselves and to each other.
Co-commissioned by Folger Theatre and Red Bull Theater
Co-produced by Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Folger Theatre, and Red Bull Theater
