(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- The Curtain, Jersey City's premier classical theatre, will present an all-new adaptation of William Shakespeare's Richard III this March at Nimbus Arts Center weekends from March 5-29, 2026. Directed and adapted by Sean Hagerty, this morbidly comic, blood-soaked classic charts the ruthless rise of Shakespeare's most notorious king.
Follow Shakespeare's mad crook-backed King as he murders his way to the top in this morbidly comic, blood-soaked classic. First premiering in 1592, this timeless tale follows one tyrant's ruthless pursuit of power and the horrific cost of his success.
Complete casting and creative team will be announced shortly.
The Curtain's Richard III will begin performances on Thursday, March 5 at Nimbus Arts Center (329 Warren Street) in downtown Jersey City just steps from the PATH train. The official Opening is set for Sunday, March 8, with the strictly limited engagement set to run through Sunday, March 29, 2026. The production has performances Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 7:30pm, and Sunday matinees at 3:00pm.
Tickets, priced at $40 for Thursday and Sunday performances, and $55 for Friday and Saturday performances, are now available for purchase online. NOTE: this play contains depictions of violence, murder, infanticide, and coarse sexual language and humour.
The Curtain's production of Richard III is supported by public funds from the Jersey City Arts & Culture Trust Fund.
SEAN HAGERTY (Director & Adaptor) trained under Sanford Meisner and studied classical theatre at the renowned Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He holds a Masters Degree in Shakespeare and Theatre from the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he graduated with Distinction. Sean has worked as an actor, teacher, director, and producer regionally and internationally for many years. Credits include: New York Classical Theatre, The Lord Chamberlain's Men, The Group Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, The Bath Shakespeare Festival, The New Vic, Theatre Royal Bristol, and BBC Radio, among others. Previously, Sean was the resident Shakespeare and Style teacher at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre for over 14 years and was the Associate Artistic Director for New York Classical Theatre. He has served as the chair of Education & Training for the international Shakespeare Theatre Association and as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Curtain (Sean Hagerty, Producing Artistic Director) was founded to deliver accessible interpretations of classic works with a focus on international and cross-cultural exchange. Their debut, under the moniker Shakespeare@ Grace Church, was a lush 2019 production of Hamlet starring Jonathan Forbes (Amazon's "Catastrophe") and SAG Award nominee Eden Brolin (Paramount's "Yellowstone"), which garnered rave reviews and was hailed as "theatrical perfection," selling out its run at Grace Church Van Vorst in Jersey City.
After COVID hit in 2020, Producing Artistic Director Sean Hagerty re-structured the company's format to ensure they continued productions, employed artists, and served their mission by conceiving of the all-sonic performance project, "Shakespeare@ Home". Partnering with the Emmy-winning team at Sonic Designs, they set out to recapture the great heyday of serialized radio drama of the 1930's and '40's. The productions, Richard II (starring Jamie Ballard, Harry Potter from the West End's ...Cursed Child), The Tempest (starring RSC veteran David Hargreaves), and Julius Caesar (starring Tony nominee and Grammy winner Patrick Page) received award nominations and multiple accolades from critics and audiences.
Rebranding as The Curtain, the company returned to live performances in October 2023 with a sold-out international production of Romeo & Juliet (starring TV sensation Aria Shahghasemi and Venice Film Fest Award Winner Anita Pomario in her American stage debut). The Curtain's most recent production, Macbeth by Candlelight (again starring Jamie Ballard) was set in a haunting candlelit environment and went on to critical acclaim and a sold-out run.
