Propeller returns after its much talked-about 2011 performances of Richard III and The Comedy of Errors with new productions of Twelfth Night and The Taming of the Shrew, two comedies full of mistaken identities, transformations, and deceptions that ultimately reveal truth.

In The Taming of the Shrew, a man playing a boy dresses up as a girl, which confuses Christopher Sly. In Twelfth Night, a man plays a girl disguised as a boy, which confuses everybody.

Both plays explore beautifully how being in love with the wrong person can reveal true feeling.

Propeller uses an all-male cast as was done in Shakespeare’s day. Mixing a rigorous approach to the text with a modern physical aesthetic, the company updates the productions in surprising ways, with actors also performing live music.

“As directed by Edward Hall, Propeller specializes in knuckle-duster Shakespeare that digs for the harshness beneath the lyricism. Funny, antic, bawdy: the productions are all these expected things. But they also make sure that the chuckles stick in your throat. The poetry may still be pretty; the comedy definitely is not.” (The New York Times)