The Winter's Tale:
Nuffield Theatre Company, Schtanhaus, Headlong Theatre

With a lost child, a jealous king, a beautiful statue and the most famous stage direction of all time, Shakespeare's late, great romance weaves high drama and low comedy to tell a story of heartbreak, reunion and new found hope. When Leontes, King of Sicilia, becomes convinced his wife, Hermione, is having an adulterous affair with his oldest friend, he is consumed with jealously. As the effects of his rage spread, a rollercoaster story unfolds of mistaken identities, a man-eating bear, courtroom dramas and a secret box which will restore a long lost daughter to her grieving father. The Winter's Tale combines the tightly plotted excitement of a thriller with the mythic beauty of a fairytale. Re-imagined in this bold and contemporary production, it is a humane and magical masterpiece.