COMEDY is On the Road!

The Acting Company presents a repertory of

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The Play On Shakespeare translations have made their way onto stages across the globe, from the U.S. to Prague to the U.K. and back again! But today, we are celebrating something new: the first Play On translation to hit the road on a national tour here at home.

The Acting Company, in partnership with Play On Shakespeare, will be touring Christina Anderson’s The Comedy of Errors in 2025, alongside a touring production of August Wilson’s Two Trains Running. Directed by TAC’s Devin Brain, The Comedy of Errors is one of Shakespeare’s quintessential comedies.

This farcical tale of separated families and mistaken identities will hit the ground running this January. In a madcap race against the clock, Antipholus and his servant, Dromio, travel in search of a long-lost family member—only to get mixed up in love-at-first-double-takes, run-ins with the law, double trouble times two. Christina Anderson’s translation maintains all we love about Shakespeare’s language even as it updates the jokes and wordplay, breathing new life into the double (and triple) entendres.

Comedy will tour alongside August Wilson’s riveting Two Trains Running. Audiences will experience the story of Memphis Lee, a diner owner in a historically black neighborhood in Pittsburgh at the height of the civil rights movement. Memphis must decide whether to allow the government to take over his building or sell the property to a ruthless businessman. A story full of joy, love, and perseverance, this Tony-nominated play celebrates the spirit, laughter, heart, and resilience of the people who make our country great even when faced with overwhelming odds.

In Wilson, Anderson, and Shakespeare, language is the deepest expression of the soul and language soars, sings, and joyously moves us in live theater as it does in no other medium.

Kent Gash, Artistic Director of The Acting Company

The Acting Company—led by Artistic Director Ken Gash, Managing Director Erik Schroeder, and Producing Director Devin Brain—centers the irrepressible human spirit in the face of challenges in the pair of two plays written by iconoclasts of the Western Canon. Comedy and Two Trains demonstrate the stresses of economic and social turmoil, revealing how family and community can rise above struggles to survive and find joy in the middle of a storm.

Kent Gash expresses his excitement for the tour, saying, “both of these plays continue the rich heritage of repertory touring that The Acting Company has brought to our country for over fifty years. Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors, translated by Christina Anderson and August Wilson’s Two Trains Running are accessible plays full of soaring language, terrific and surprising characters seeking places where they can belong, and people that they can belong to. I am especially pleased to pair August Wilson with William Shakespeare (and Christina Anderson), all iconoclastic poets of the theater. Christina Anderson’s vibrant translation of The Comedy of Errors highlights her contemporary syntax while being faithful to the classic original. All the comedy, clowning, hijinks, hilarity, and poetry are delightfully intact. In Wilson, Anderson, and Shakespeare, language is the deepest expression of the soul and language soars, sings, and joyously moves us in live theater as it does in no other medium.”

We love the idea of a rotating repertory, which gives both actor and audience the experience of stretching their perspectives as well as an homage to theater practice in Shakespeare’s day.

Lue Douthit, President and Co-Founder of Play On Shakespeare

The Play On Shakespeare team is equally enthusiastic about the tour, particularly our unique partnership with The Acting Company. Director of Partnerships Sally Cade Holmes says, “The Acting Company’s long history of touring productions full of artistry and craft makes them a perfect partner for Play On Shakespeare’s mission to expand access to these timeless stories.” And President and Co-Founder of Play On, Lue Douthit, highlights the goals of the translations: “To be companion pieces to the original Shakespeare plays, yes, but also to be stand-alone performable. This tour is going to test their performability with this excellent acting company who will also be performing in Two Trains Running. We love the idea of a rotating repertory, which gives both actor and audience the experience of stretching their perspectives as well as an homage to theater practice in Shakespeare’s day.”

If you’re near one of the touring locations, you won’t want to miss out on this incredible production!

Find a Performance Near You!

Tour Dates

(* includes student and group matinees)
Note: Locations will offer performances of The Comedy of Errors, Two Trains Running, or both titles!

Learn More About The Acting Company!

Founded by John Houseman and Margot Harley in 1972, The Acting Company has helped launch the careers of nearly 500 actors and performed for over four million people in 48 states, 10 foreign countries, on and Off-Broadway, and at leading resident theaters, including The Guthrie and The Kennedy Center. New works commissioned by the company include plays by Lisa Peterson, Marcus Gardley, Ntozake Shange, Maria Irene Fornés, Spalding Gray, and many more. Among many accolades, The Acting Company received the 2003 Tony Award for Excellence in the Theater. It won the 2019 Audelco Award for Best Play for its production of Nambi E. Kelley’s Native Son, directed by Seret Scott. The company brings professional productions and education programs to thousands of audience members in diverse communities throughout the U.S. each year.

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