Measure for Measure
Newly appointed deputy to rule Vienna, Lord Angelo enforces tyrannical law against immorality in the city. When it’s discovered that Claudio’s fiancé is pregnant, Lord Angelo convicts him with a death sentence. Claudio’s sister, Isabella, seeks out Angelo to beg for mercy—but at what cost will she, a nun, go to save her brother?
At a Glance
Classical Setting • Disguise • Mistaken Identity • Tragicomedy
Newly appointed deputy to rule Vienna, Lord Angelo enforces tyrannical law against immorality in the city.
When it’s discovered that Claudio’s betrothed is pregnant, Lord Angelo convicts him with the death sentence, Claudio’s sister, Isabella, seeks out Angelo to beg for mercy—but at what cost will she, a nun, go to save her brother?
In her process of writing Measure for Measure, Aditi Brennan Kapil found the play to be much more contemporary than we often give it credit for.
She says, “I wrote with one eye on the news, and the other on Shakespeare’s winking double speak and sarcastic asides, and the marriage of the two tapped instantly and directly into all of our collective outrage at the hypocrisies and absurdities of today. It’s a sobering reminder that Measure for Measure isn’t a play about outdated archetypes very long ago in a historically amorphous Vienna. It’s about us.”
Artists
Playwright
Dramaturg
Dramaturg
Productions, Readings & Workshops
Measure for Measure – A.C.T. Out Tour
Production & Tour | San Francisco, CA, USA
Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure
Play On Podcasts
Measure for Measure
Translation by Aditi Brennan Kapil
Directed by Jessie Austrian
Aditi Brennan Kapil's Measure for Measure is our latest Play On Podcast series, directed by Jessie Austrian and features New York's award-winning Fiasco Theater ensemble. Exploring the corruption of power with wit and suspense, this podcast showcases a Vienna where anything can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time.
Paperback & eBooks
Measure for Measure
By William Shakespeare
Translation by Aditi Brennan Kapil
An accessible new translation of one of Shakespeare’s most interesting and challenging plays.
One of Shakespeare’s most difficult plays, Measure for Measure has long challenged performers and audiences alike. In reworking the play in her translation, Aditi Brennan Kapil honors the structure, rhythms, and themes of Shakespeare’s original. Kapil’s updated language makes this cautionary fable about frailty, power, and the perils of legislating morality accessible for today’s audiences.
Production History
June 10, 2019
Play On! Festival NYC
Rehearsal and Staged Reading directed by Lisa Channer with full cast as part of the Play On! Translation Festival in NYC.
Produced by:
Play On! / Classic Stage / Oregon Shakespeare Festival
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