Steppenwolf Presents A CELEBRATION OF HAROLD PINTER Tonight

In conjunction with The Birthday Party, Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents a one-night only performance of A Celebration of Harold Pinter, performed by British actor Julian Sands, directed by ensemble member John Malkovich. With personal anecdotes and reflections drawn from his work with Pinter, Sands combines Pinter's poems and prose to create a fresh and intimate insight into the Nobel laureate's literary legacy. A Celebration of Harold Pinter is tonight, February 10 at 7:30pm in the Downstairs Theatre (1650 N Halsted St). Tickets ($25) are on sale now.

Actor Julian Sands, best known for the films A Room With a View and The Killing Fields, was a longtime friend of the playwright. A few years before his death, Pinter requested that Sands fill in for him at a poetry reading when he was too ill to go on. The experience ultimately inspired this production, which debuted in 2011 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in homage to Pinter, who died in 2008. The production toured through Britain and was presented in San Francisco, Los Angeles and to sold-out audiences in New York City, with Backstage calling it "mandatory viewing for devotees of the actor and certainly 'the defining dramatist of the 20th century'...this one-man show fondly reveals an engaging and at times vulnerable side of the famously prickly playwright."

Tickets to The Birthday Party ($20 - $78) and A Celebration of Harold Pinter ($25) are currently on sale through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St), 312-335-1650 and steppenwolf.org. 20 for $20: twenty $20 tickets are available for The Birthday Party through Audience Services beginning at 11am on the day of each performance (1pm for Sunday performances). Rush Tickets: rush tickets are available one hour before each show. Student Discounts: a limited number of $15 student tickets are available online using promo code "BIRTHDAY15" or "SANDS15". Limit 2 tickets per student; must present a valid student ID for each ticket. For additional student discounts, visit steppenwolf.org/students. Group Tickets: all groups of 10 or more receive a discounted rate for any performance throughout the season. For additional information, visit steppenwolf.org/groups.

Free post-show discussions are offered after every performance in the Subscription Season. Steppenwolf is located near all forms of public transportation and is wheelchair accessible. Street and lot parking are available. Assistive listening devices and large-print programs are available for every performance.

Accessible Performances:
Sign-interpreted performance: March 31 at 7:30pm
Audio-described performance and touch tour: April 14 at 1:30pm (3pm performance)
Open captioned performance: April 27 at 3pm

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is America's longest standing, most distinguished ensemble theater, producing nearly 700 performances and events annually in its three Chicago theater spaces-the 515-seat Downstairs Theatre, the 299-seat Upstairs Theatre and the 80-seat Garage Theatre. Formed in 1976 by a collective of actors, Steppenwolf has grown into an ensemble of 43 actors, writers and directors. Artistic programming at Steppenwolf includes a five-play Subscription Season, a two-play Steppenwolf for Young Adults season and three repertory series: First Look Repertory of New Work, Garage Rep and Next Up. While firmly grounded in the Chicago community, nearly 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success both nationally and internationally, including Off-Broadway, Broadway, London, Sydney and Dublin. Steppenwolf has the distinction of being the only theater to receive the National Medal of Arts, in addition to numerous other prestigious honors including an Illinois Arts Legend Award and nine Tony Awards. Martha Lavey is the Artistic Director and David Hawkanson is the Executive Director. Nora Daley is Chair of Steppenwolf's Board of Trustees. For additional information, visit steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre and twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr.

More Articles by This Author...