Shakespeare’s R&J and Antigone
January 22, 2027 – February 13, 2027
Falcon Theatre
$30; $15 Student Tickets
See Shakespeare’s R&J and Antigone at Falcon Theatre from January 22 to February 13
These two plays were made to be seen together.
In Shakespeare’s R&J, four boys discover love through Shakespeare’s words — and find that the story they’re performing is also the story they’re living. In Antigone, two sisters face the law, the state, and each other — and find that love is the only thing worth dying for.
Both plays place young people in worlds with rigid rules. Both ask what it costs to defy them. And both remind us that the oldest stories we have are still the most dangerous ones.
Shakespeare’s R&J
The rules said study Latin. The rules said lights out. The rules said nothing about Romeo and Juliet.
At a rigid all-male boarding school, four boys are governed by bells, schedules, and the Ten Commandments. But after curfew, one of them produces a contraband copy of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet — and what begins as a forbidden thrill quickly becomes something none of them bargained for.
As the boys take turns voicing the play’s doomed lovers, the boundaries between performance and reality begin to dissolve. Shakespeare’s words — written for another age — find new urgency, new tenderness, and new danger in these four young bodies. What starts as play-acting turns into something real, something terrifying, something beautiful.
What begins as a rebellious laugh soon turns into something more violent. Thrust into the reality of the Bard’s words, the parallels between their lives and Shakespeare’s doomed lovers begin to reveal themselves. Reading Rep
Joe Calarco’s Lucille Lortel Award–winning adaptation is a landmark of American theater — inventive, emotionally shattering, and unlike any Romeo and Juliet you’ve ever seen.
Antigone
The war is over. The dead are buried. Everyone is ready to move on. Everyone except Antigone.
Two sisters. One impossible choice. And a law that says the wrong person must go unburied, unmourned, forgotten.
The war is over. The dead have been buried. The traitors have been punished. People feel more alive than they have in a long time. They are ready to start again. But Antigone is not. She will not move on, and she will not forget. She will drag everyone back if she has to.
In Lulu Raczka’s bold reimagining of Sophocles’ ancient tragedy, Antigone and her younger sister Ismene are teenagers — funny, reckless, and achingly real — navigating grief, loyalty, and the terrifying gap between knowing what’s right and being able to do it. The conflict is not between Antigone and Creon, but between two sisters faced with an unthinkable family rupture.
Raczka’s searing adaptation hands the reins to the young women at its heart, creating something messy, irreverent, and vital.
Tickets to Shakespeare’s R&J and Antigone
Tickets to Shakespeare’s R&J and Antigone are $30 for general admission and $15 for student tickets.
See one. See both. Special pricing if you see both shows!
About Falcon Theatre
Founded in 1989 by Dave Radtke and Ted Weil, Falcon Theatre began as an aspiration to expand the theatrical opportunities in the Greater Cincinnati area. Since that time, Falcon has built on its founding mission by providing eclectic, diverse theatre experiences to Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Falcon Theatre has created a tradition of exceptional theater and is an intrinsic part of the flourishing Greater Cincinnati Theater community. Falcon is dedicated to both artists and audiences, as the relationship between the two is what makes live theater such an extraordinary art.
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Remaining Season
Falcon Theatre Venue Details
Parking
Street Parking – Available on most main and side streets. Please pay attention to parking meters.
Public Parking Lots:
- 117 E. 5th Street, behind Truist Bank
- 707 Monmouth Street, next to The Pepper Pod
- 7th Street and Orchard, behind La Mexicana Grocery
- 80 E. 4th Street, across from The Syndicate (new garage)
- 3rd Street, outdoor parking lot next to Arnie’s On the Levee
- Newport On The Levee parking garage
Accessibility
Please notify the box office in advance if you require wheelchair seating or have special seating needs, and the staff will be happy to accommodate you. Please allow extra time at the box office to enable the staff to comfortably facilitate your seating needs.
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Image provided by Falcon Theatre
