In this fresh and engaging piece of physical theater, Split Knuckle Theatre’s Endurance uses desks, chairs and filing cabinets to create a world of ice, snow and mountains. Through precise and elegant movement and gesture, they create an inventive landscape that surprises and delights.

And there are parallels to today.

Endurance was a smash hit in last season’s Studio Festival of Plays at the Company, and features longtime Shakespeare & Company member Michael F. Toomey with his fellow Split Knuckle co-creators Jason Bohon, Andrew Grusetskie, and Greg Webster.

Trapped in Antarctica with no hope of rescue, the great British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton kept 27 men alive for two years in the most inhospitable climate on earth. Ninety-five years later, in the worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression, Hartford insurance man Walter Spivey, struggling to justify his recent promotion and save his employee’s jobs, relives Shackleton’s story. Can one of the greatest leaders in human history inspire him to conquer the corporate world?

This is a much anticipated visit from the internationally acclaimed Split Knuckle Theatre Company known for its funny, physical and moving explorations of how the human spirit can conquer any obstacle with wit, humor, invention…and endurance!

Split Knuckle Theatre has performed at Connecticut Repertory Theatre, Ars Nova’s ANT FEST, and The Tank Theatre in NYC, as well as in Brussels, Bucharest, Buenos Aires, Maastricht, London, and Bangkok, with future performances scheduled in Athens, Paris, Frankfurt, and Barcelona The company made its successful debut with an adaptation of John Steinbeck’s The Pearl at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in a production that the SCOTSMAN gave 5 stars, calling it “an elegant, humorous and tremendously moving drama.” They are current at work on two new productions, entitled Café Goma and The Curious Case of Phineas Gage.

Endurance runs from June 28 through July 15 in S&Co.’s Founders’ Theatre. Press Opening is on Friday, June 29 at 7:30PM.

At a Glance:

PRODUCTION: Endurance
THEATRE: Founders’ Theatre
CO-CREATORS: Jason Bohon, Andrew Grusetskie, Michael F. Toomey, and Greg Webster with writer Nick Ryan
PERFORMERS: Jason Bohon, Andrew Grusetskie, Michael F. Toomey, and Greg Webster
SETS, COSTUMES, AND SOUND: Split Knuckle Theatre
STAGE MANAGER: Carmen A. Torres
LIGHTING DESIGNER: Dan Rousseau
WARDROBE: Stella Schwartz

Performance Dates:

Thursday, June 28, 7:30 PM
Friday, June 29, 7:30 PM (Press Opening)
Sunday, July 1, 2:00 PM
Tuesday, July 3, 7:30 PM
Wednesday, July 4, 7:30 PM
Saturday, July 7, 2:00 PM
Wednesday, July 11, 7:30 PM (Q&A)
Saturday, July 14, 7:30 PM
Sunday, July 15, 2:00 PM (Closing Performance)

Tickets are $15-$95, and S&Co. offers a wide range of discount options, including discounts for groups, students, senior citizens, military, teachers and our very popular 40% Berkshire Resident Discount. To view a complete schedule, receive a brochure, or inquire about discounts, please call the Box Office at (413) 637-3353 or visit www.shakespeare.org. For customized group visits—which may include artist talkbacks, tours, and catered events—contact the Group Sales office at (413) 637-1199, ext. 132. Founders’ Theatre is air-conditioned and hearing aid assisted and wheelchair accessible.