“This partnership is special because our missions are so aligned,” said Devin Brain, producing artistic director. “The Acting Company and Play On Shakespeare both begin with the idea of making Shakespeare exciting for contemporary artists and audiences.”
Brain said the translations maintain the original structure, updating updating some of the phrasing to make it easier to understand.
“The intent to translate him is to give everyone a faster way in — to make sure that we are able to really revel in exactly how incisive his language is,” he added.
Polonius is featured prominently in the adaptation, acting as a foil for the indecisive Hamlet and providing comedic relief with his timeless maxims, like, “Brevity is the soul of wit,” Act 2, Scene 2, — ironically spoken while being long-winded.
About Lisa Peterson
Lisa Peterson is a two-time Obie Award-winning writer and director. Her works include “An Iliad,” written with Denis O’Hare and winning New York Theatre Workshop, Obie and Lortel Awards; “The Good Book,” co-written with O’Hare, Court Theater, and Berkeley Rep; and “The Waves,” adapted from Virginia Woolf with composer David Bucknam of the NYTW.
Peterson is renowned for directing new plays and classics across the country. Recently, she directed the world premiere of Doug Wright’s “Good Night Oscar” on Broadway. She was associate director at Berkeley Rep, Center Theatre Group and La Jolla Playhouse. She is a recent recipient of the Gordon Davidson Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Upcoming writing projects include “The Song of Rome” with O’Hare and “The Idea of Order” with composer Todd Almond.
About Chika V. Ike
Chika V. Ike is a New York and Chicago-based theatre director and dramaturg. She specializes in classics, new play development and musicals.
Drawn to theatrical epics, her work seeks to celebrate the healing, nuances, yearnings and imaginations of Black women through expansive, innovative and cathartic journeys. Her love of history, comics and fantasy translates to a deep and detailed approach to world-building and a drive to challenge and reframe the familiar.
Recently, she served as the resident director for the North American tour of “Hamilton,” an American musical. She has previously served as an associate director for the musical “Hadestown,” the Broadway production and first national tour, and the associate director for the Olivier Award-winning Broadway transfer of “Death of a Salesman.”
About The Acting Company
Founded by legendary performer-producers John Houseman and Margot Harley, the Acting Company seeks to develop emerging actors by touring classic plays and newly commissioned adaptations nationwide. Since its founding, The Acting Company has enjoyed many Brooklyn residents on its board leadership, including current Chairperson Earl Weiner, longtime resident of Garden Place, and among its notable actors is Fort Greene resident Jeffrey Wright.
The company has launched the careers of nearly 500 actors, including Kevin Kline, Patti LuPone, Keith David, Rainn Wilson, Frances Conroy, Jeffrey Wright, Hamish Linklater, Jesse L. Martin and Kelley Curran, among many others.
The Acting Company received the 2003 Tony Award for Excellence in the Theater. Its production of Homer’s “Odyssey” adapted and directed by Lisa Peterson from Emily Wilson’s landmark English-language translation was named one of the Ten Best Plays of 2023 by the Marin Independent Journal, and the company’s repertory of William Shakespeare’s “The Comedy Of Errors” in modern verse translation by Christina Anderson in repertory with August Wilson’s “Two Trains Running” directed by Lili-Anne Brown won the Santa Barbara Independent’s 2025 Best Festival “Indy Award” for Theater.
Since 1972, The Acting Company has 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 American Conservatory Theater.
New works commissioned by the company include plays by William Finn, Marcus Gardley, Rebecca Gilman, John Guare, Beth Henley, Tony Kushner, Lynn Nottage, Meg Miroshnik, Ntozake Shange, Maria Irene Fornés, Spalding Gray, Nikki Massoud, Marsha Norman, Samm-Art Williams and Wendy Wasserstein.
About Play On Shakespeare
Play On Shakespeare is a nonprofit company dedicated to promoting and creating modern English translations of Shakespeare’s plays, written in Early Modern English. Through partnerships with artists and organizations worldwide, Play On Shakespeare delivers these translations via theatrical productions, workshops and trainings, podcasts, publications and film.
Play On Shakespeare is made possible through the generous support of the Hitz Foundation.