June 6, 2025

Here are the 10 plays that will make up Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s 91st season

The

Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s 90th season

has just begun in Ashland. But even as those productions start their summer runs, the theater company is planning for next year.

On Wednesday, Oregon’s most well-known theater festival announced the 10 plays that will make up its 91st season in 2026.

As usual, these plays include work by William Shakespeare but also go well beyond his catalog.

There will be classics, like “A Raisin in the Sun,” by Lorraine Hansberry, and “Emma,” by Kate Hamill and based on the novel by Jane Austen. And there will be kings, “Henry IV, Part One,” by Shakespeare and “King Hedley II,” by August Wilson.

And there will be comedies, including “Smote This, A Comedy About God … and Other Serious $H*T,” created and performed by Rodney Gardiner, and “You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World!” by Keiko Green.

Plus, a hit musical about 9/11: “Come From Away,” with book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein.

“These plays center characters who are asked to rise — sometimes for themselves, sometimes for others — and who discover that the path forward is rarely walked alone,” said the festival’s artistic director, Tim Bond, in a press release. “It’s a season for audiences to see the possibility of what happens when we meet the moment.”

Here is the full line-up for next season:

Angus Bowmer Theatre


“Come From Away”


  • Saturday, March 14, 2026, to Friday, Oct. 23, 2026

  • Book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein

  • Directed by Laurie Woolery


“A Raisin in the Sun”


  • Sunday, March 15, 2026, to Sunday, July 19, 2026

  • By Lorraine Hansberry

  • Directed by Tim Bond


“Yellow Face”


  • Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026 to Friday, Oct. 23, 2026

  • By David Henry Hwang

  • Directed by May Adrales

Thomas Theatre


“You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World!”


  • Wednesday, April 15, 2026, to Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026

  • By Keiko Green

  • Directed by Zi Alikhan


“King Hedley II”


  • Wednesday, July 8, 2026, to Friday, Oct. 23, 2026

  • By August Wilson

  • Directed by Tim Bond


“Smote This, A Comedy About God … and Other Serious $H*T”


  • Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, to Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026

  • Created and performed by Rodney Gardiner

  • Directed by Raz Golden

Allen Elizabethan Theatre


“The Taming of the Shrew”


  • Friday, June 5, 2026, to Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026

  • By William Shakespeare

  • Directed by Shana Cooper


“Henry IV, Part One”





  • Saturday, June 6, 2026, to Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

  • By William Shakespeare

  • Directed by Rosa Joshi


“Emma”





  • Sunday, June 7, 2026, to Friday, Oct. 9, 2026

  • By Kate Hamill, based on the novel by Jane Austen

  • Directed by Meredith McDonough





Lizzy Acker


covers life and culture and writes


the advice column Why Tho?


Reach her at 503-221-8052,


lacker@oregonian.com


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