ADV – Leaderboard

"Chimerica" at the Almeida Theatre in London.

TimeLine Theatre Company Slates Another Season of History Plays

The BP oil spill, the Tiananmen Square massacre and the legacy of the Black Power movement are among the inspirations for plays in the theatre’s next season.

CHICAGO: TimeLine Theatre Company, a theatre dedicated to plays inspired by history that connect to today’s social and political issues, has announced its 2015–16 season, which features the return of Chicago legend Mike Nussbaum, plus a new play by The Laramie Project‘s Leigh Fondakowski and the U.S. premiere of Lucy Kirkwood’s Tiananmen Square meditation Chimerica.

The season begins with Arthur Miller’s The Price, about two brothers reuniting after many years to sort through their late father’s belongings. Nussbaum stars in his revival, to be directed by Louis Contey, which will run August–November at TimeLine’s own theatre.

Next is Fondakowski’s Spill, in its Chicago premiere. This docutheatre piece, created with Reeva Wortel, interweaves stories from the Louisana bayous affected by the 2010 BP oil spill. Fondakowski will direct the production, which runs October–December at Stage 773.

Also receiving its Chicago premiere is Dominique Morisseau’s Sunset Baby, about the daughter of a former black revolutionary who must make amends with him, and vice versa. Directed by Ron O.J. Parson, it runs January–April, 2016 at the TimeLine Theatre.

May–July, 2016 brings Chimerica, a play about a photojournalist searching, 20 years later, for the truth about the famous “tank man” of the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing. Kirkwood’s play, which won the 2014 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play, will be directed by TimeLine associate artistic director Nick Bowling at the troupe’s home theatre.

Support American Theatre: a just and thriving theatre ecology begins with information for all. Please join us in this mission by making a donation to our publisher, Theatre Communications Group. When you support American Theatre magazine and TCG, you support a long legacy of quality nonprofit arts journalism. Click here to make your fully tax-deductible donation today!

ADV – Billboard