"Macbeth," in Fiennes form

Ralph Fiennes and Indira Varma as M and Lady M. (Marc Brenner)

Hype Check: There’s nothing about the Ralph Fiennes-anchored, “found” spaces Macbeth that couldn’t have happened on on the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s home court on F St. NW but it’s still a great opportunity to see 007’s boss M (!) offer a more comic take on a part 007 played only two years ago, as I aver in yer now-paperless Washington City Paper.

I have no memory of seeing this prior, contemporary-warzone-set STC Macbeth — 2017 was about 25 years ago — but evidently I didn’t like it.

Stuck Like a Pig: "Fat Ham," reviewed.

Greg Alverez Reid and Marquis D. Gibson as a kingslayer and his nephew in Fat Ham. (Margot Schulman)

My City Paper review of Studio’s production of Fat Ham, James Ijames’ Pulitzer-winning Hamlet rewrite, is here. You can also read my profile of the playwright from last May.

Magic & Loss; Round House Theater's "The Tempest," reviewed.

Nate Dendy, Eric Hissom, and Meagan Graves in an illusion-spiked The Tempest. (Scott Suchman)

The Vegas-birthed production of The Tempest at Round House Theatre through mid-January has plenty to recommend it: jaw-dropping stage illusions, haunting Tom Waits songs, a truly beastly Caliban performed by two actors sweating in tandem. Co-adapters Aaron Posner and Teller have had to do some clear-cutting to make room for all this good stuff, but it’s a fair trade, says I, in my Washington City Paper review.

Pressing the (Pound of) Flesh: STC's "The Merchant of Venice," reviewed.

John Douglas Thompson’s revelatory and captivating Shylock is not the problem. (Henry Grossman)

I struggled with the John Douglas Thompson-starring The Merchant of Venice at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. I think director Arin Arbus intended that we should. There’s no arguing with Thompson’s revelatory Shylock, but I wonder if all that power could’ve been shaped into something more, well, directed had Arbus done some liberal cutting. That’s the précis of my WCP review.

Love, American Style: Folger's "The Merry Wives of Windsor," reviewed.

The cast of Aaron Posner’s ERA-era Merry Wives dances the night away. (Cameron Whitman)

The new bellbottoms-era Merry Wives is your last chance to see Aaron Posner direct some of his (and my) favorite actors—and some welcome new faces—at the scheduled-for-renovation Folger Theater for two years. Would’ve been even groovier sans intermission, but it’s fun. Here’s my Washington City Paper review.

Depth and Deprivation: "The Children" and "Love's Labor's Lost," reviewed.

I didn't write about Ella Hickson's Oil, the best play I've seen this year. But I did review Lucy Kirkwood's The Children, the second-best. I'm struck by how different two plays with ecological themes written by British women born in the 80s that premiered in 2016 can be. I also wrote about Folger's new production of the seldom-staged Shakespeare comedy, Love's Labor's Lost, and discussed it on Around Town, below.

Action Figure: A Syrian Asylum Seeker Makes Her English-Language Debut in "This Hope: A Pericles Project"

Lida Maria Benson, Raghad Makhlouf, Lori Pitts, and Rocelyn Frisco (Hannah Hessel Ratner)

I've got a feature in today's Washington City Paper about Raghad Mahklouf, a Syrian asylum-seeker—and veteran actor—who's appearing in The Welders' new riff on Pericles. Only 34 seats are available for each performance, so don't sleep on those tickets if this appeals to you.

Language Bury Her: Studio's Translations and Folger's The Winter's Tale, reviewed.

British soldiers survey an Irish village circa 1830 in Translations. (Teresa Wood)

I've got reviews of two shows I enjoyed in this week's Washington City Paper: Studio Theatre second-in-command Matt Torney's confident new production of Brian Friel's 40-year-old Irish classic Translations, and Aaron Posner's The Winter's Tale over at the Folger. The former as a lot of superb performers who haven't worked a lot in Washington before. The latter has a bunch of Posner's favorite actors (and mine), but it's Michael Tisdale as the maniacal King Leontes who runs away with the show.