My interest in The Winter’s Tale dates back to college when I first read the play. Outside of festivals it was infrequently produced and I have a distant memory of the tragedies and comedies being a bit more to my liking. Now that I am a father of two children (not unlike Leontes and Hermione) and approaching the age when Shakespeare wrote the play, it has a special resonance, both personal and artistic. More importantly, I believe the play speaks to all of us who are trying to make sense of a world filled with deep divisions among people and little room for forgiveness and reconciliation.

The title is reminiscent of folk and fairy tales. Shakespeare’s choice of “the” is intriguing. It suggests universal ideas related to the seasons versus “a” which might apply to any old tale. His repeated references to the act of telling or being in a tale remind us that we are visiting an imagined place, a landscape of dreams and visions, magic and mystery. It is a tale that includes some classic markers—an Oracle from Apollo, an infant princess abandoned on a distant shore, the surprising use of the statue, the figure of Time, to name a few.

Shakespeare’s play blends elements of tragedy and comedy as it moves from the darkness of Sicilia to the light of Bohemia and ends with a miracle. In considering the actual and metaphoric winter, it is a fitting tale for our time.

In our telling of this tale, you will see dance, music, puppetry and object theatre. The birds are cranes. They are a majestic creature that mates for life. The male and female together build their nest and share the incubation of their offspring. They were sacred to the god Apollo. In the East, they are symbols of honor, happiness, peace. Like the seasons, their annual return is a reminder of hope and regeneration.

Mark Harrison