Season 35 - Back to the Bard: Reimagined and Relevant

Our 35th season, beginning in October 2024, offers a rich and distinctive lineup that exemplifies our mission to interrogate the classics and classical themes and showcase innovative voices.

The season kicks off with the October 2024 9th annual FREE Scripts in Play festival presented in Arlington art galleries, featuring three bold and thought-provoking new scripts. A wine and cheese reception accompanies each reading!

We need financial support to continue producing vibrant theatre in Arlington. To make a contribution to Avant Bard click here.

Free Scripts in Play Festival:
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Rude Mechanics by Eric Hissom
Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) Arlington
3550 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201

Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 20, 2:00 p.m.

Rude Mechanics is a fast-paced, gender-fluid period comedy that resonates with contemporary themes, set in London in 1612 during a time of plague and political unrest. When an understudy is thrust into a leading role in Shakespeare’s troupe on the eve of a performance for King James, the night becomes rife with political and romantic intrigue. Featuring Shakespeare himself and touching on many of his enduring themes, this play is a lively exploration of love, art, and survival in tumultuous times.


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The Margriad, (or the Tragedy of Queen Margaret) as conceived by Séamus Miller

Gunston Arts Center
Theatre Two
2700 S Lang St, Arlington, VA

Avant Bard Theatre proudly presents The Margriad, a compelling adaptation that brings to life one of Shakespeare's most formidable characters, Queen Margaret of Anjou. Conceived by SeĢamus Miller, this production weaves together four of Shakespeare's history plays—Henry VI Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Richard III—to tell the complete, epic story of Margaret’s rise and fall. With six actors taking on all the roles, and three different actors embodying Margaret at various stages of her life, The Margriad offers a powerful and streamlined exploration of ambition, power, and tragedy. This production invites audiences to experience Shakespeare’s history plays as a cohesive narrative, centered around the indomitable spirit of Queen Margaret.


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The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarkas conceived by Kathleen Akerley

Gunston Arts Center
Theatre Two
2700 S Lang St, Arlington, VA

Avant Bard Theatre is thrilled to close its 35th season with a bold new interpretation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, directed by the visionary Kathleen Akerley, an Avant Bard Artistic Associate. Known for her cerebral and innovative approach to classical texts, Akerley reimagines the iconic tragedy by delving deep into Hamlet’s grief-fueled disorientation, and examines every character not in the context of how they fail the titular hero but are failed by him. “People tell you not to make any major decisions within a year of significant loss,” Akerley observes. “So much of Hamlet stands as cautionary proof of that point. When my mother died, I thought the globe was literally spinning wrong: how could I be trusted to measure reality or take the temperature of the world and people around me – many of whom were also flailing in grief?” This Hamlet will drive to its awful conclusion with few stops for air.

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