Rogue Shakespeare Presents Final Performance of Season

Rogue Shakespeare, the 2013–14 MFA company of Mary Baldwin University’s Shakespeare and Performance program, in association with the American Shakespeare Center, is set to perform the final play in its season of treason. Fuente Ovejuna by Lope de Vega will be the first performance of a Spanish Golden Age play on the Blackfriars stage.

When the people of Fuente Ovejuna’s small town revolt against their corrupt and abusive commander, treason transforms the once tranquil community and leads to an unexpected outcome in this surprisingly contemporary story, based on an actual incident in 1476.

Guest director Beth Burns of Austin’s Hidden Room Theatre will use the staging conditions that Lope de Vega — writing in Spain in 1612 — had in common with early modern English playwrights, including universal lighting, audience contact, doubling of characters, and live music.

Fuente Ovejuna will be performed 8 p.m., March 30, March 31, and April 7 at the Blackfriars Playhouse. Admission is by donation with a suggested amount of $10 for adults and $5 for students.

Immediately following the opening performance of Fuente Ovejuna, Rogue Shakespeare will begin the festival of plays, which reprises all the productions from the 2013–14 season. Audiences will have two opportunities to see Macbeth, Richard II, The Insatiate Countess, and Dr. Faustus within nine days. Visit rogueshakes.com or the company’s Facebook page for dates and times. New to this year’s festival are special events that welcome back alumni to help celebrate the S&P program.