“Arden/Everywhere” re-imagines Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” as a story about refugees. It unlocks the beloved comedy’s deepest heartbeat to tell a distinctly contemporary story – one that looks into a world of dislocation and exile to discover resilience, reconciliation and love. Performed by professional actors alongside performers from refugee and immigrant communities, it weaves Shakespeare’s text together with their personal stories to bring this 400 year old story firmly into the world of today.
We are in the midst of the biggest worldwide refugee crisis since World War II. Yet our current national conversation is paralyzed, with overwhelming statistics of misery on one side, and nativist fear-mongering on the other. Completely missing from the conversation is a fundamental recognition of our common humanity. In the face of a seemingly incomprehensible global catastrophe, “Arden/Everywhere” unleashes theater’s unique ability to awaken our empathy by connecting us to the fullness of refugees’ lives and showing us that they are so much more than their experiences of dislocation.