Actors from the London Stage to perform Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at UTSA

OCTOBER 7, 2024 — The UTSA Friends of Shakespeare, the Department of English and UTSA Arts are co-hosting a return of Actors from the London Stage. The touring ensemble of five London-based actors will perform Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at 7:30 p.m. on October 9, 11 and 12 in the Arts Building Recital Hall (ART 2.03.02B) on the UTSA Main Campus.

Actors From the London Stage is an international touring theater organization based in London and at the University of Notre Dame. It combines the superb talents of professional actors on stage with rare opportunities for students to work with them in the classroom.

The actors, whose impressive credits include productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Vic and the Globe, are Shona Babayemi, Sarah Finigan, Sam Jenkins-Shaw, Thuliswa Magwaza and Hayden Wood. Each performer will play multiple roles in a production that utilizes simple costumes and minimal scenery, with an emphasis on the craft of acting and the riches of Shakespeare’s language.

“The Actors from the London Stage’s residency at UTSA shows our students what is powerful about theatre as an art form and what made someone like Shakespeare a real master of it.”

“The Actors from the London Stage’s residency at UTSA shows our students what is powerful about theatre as an art form and what made someone like Shakespeare a real master of it. Sometimes students think of theatre as film, but when you are in a room with five masterful actors who are transforming into an array of different characters before your eyes, it’s just a completely different feeling than watching something on a screen,” explained Kimberly Fonzo, associate professor of English and lead for the UTSA Friends of Shakespeare.

Actors from the London Stage visit American universities each year to perform and to conduct classes and workshops. This is the company’s 33rd visit to UTSA and San Antonio. Its residency is supported by The UTSA Friends of Shakespeare, the UTSA College of Liberal and Fine Arts, and the Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts.

“As COLFA launches its Interdisciplinary School for Engagement, there are opportunities for us to collaborate to create more theatre on campus with the possibility of a future new major for students with a passion for performance,” Fonzo said.

Tickets for performances of Twelfth Night are $22 for general admission and $12 for students with a student ID; they are available online. All seats are reserved. Tickets are not available at the door. Attendees may park for free in the Bauerle parking lots.

Launched in 2022, UTSA Arts advances community arts education, public-facing performances and exhibitions, arts-based research and partnerships to enhance the accessibility of the arts for the public.

— Nick Ward