Playwright Simon Stephens to visit Griffin, Steep Theatres

Simon Stephens

Photo: Simon Kane

Steep Theatre Company and Columbia College Chicago are partnering to bring British playwright Simon Stephens to Chicago in March, says Steep artistic director Peter Moore.

Stephens will conduct workshops with Columbia College theater department students and faculty March 12–14; he'll also be making appearances at a number of public events. On Monday, March 12 at 8pm, Stephens will read his monologue Sea Wall at Steep Theatre, followed by a discussion with Chicago Tribune theater critic Chris Jones. On Wednesday, March 14, also at 8pm, Steep will present a reading of Stephens's Blindsided, a work in progress under commission from Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre. Moore notes this will be the first public presentation of the latter play. Tickets for each event are $30 and on sale now.

Griffin Theatre Company, which has Stephens's play Punk Rock currently on the boards, announced separately today that it will extend its production through Sunday, March 11, with Stephens joining in a postshow discussion following the closing performance. Tickets for the newly added performances are on sale at Theater Wit's website. Read my January profile of Stephens for more on the playwright.