Company: We Three
Position: Director
Costumes: Delena Bradley
Lights: Benjamin Dionysus
Composer “The Fairy Queen“: Arne Parrott
Choreography “The Fairy Queen“: Sarah Liz Bell
Fight Director: Orion Couling
Photos: iNDie Grant Productions
Promotional Crest Designs by Joan Varitek
Promotional Poster Art by The Monster Ghost
“GO SEE THIS PLAY!! Gorgeous writing and truly exceptional acting. Mary Kate Arnold brings the countess fully to life, imbuing her with a humanity and beauty that makes her actions all the more believable and horrifying. A wonderful evening at the theater!” – Laura S.
“McDaris’ script is not only exquisitely paced and structured, but it is incredibly intelligent as well.” – Alyson Grauer
“Dark subject matter handled deftly, surprising moments of humor and pathos… it was very pleasant to hear non-Shakespearean verse that was just as passionate and fiery as the Bard’s.” – Jeremiah Barr
“And, of course, the play would be nothing without the expertly crafted writing.” – Stephanie Plus Verb
“Ladies and gentlemen, you have to see the show! But you might wanna leave the kiddies at home. It is brutal, intense, tension so thick you could cut it with a knife (might take a couple passes even). One HELL of a show!” – Dylan Crow
“Countess Bathory is a brilliantly written and beautifully performed piece. Given the gruesome background of the story, it may seem reasonable to walk in expecting to see something that could cleanly fall within the realm of horror – but that is not the case. The characters are crisply different from each other, providing a fascinating menagerie to behold, and yet somehow simultaneously blurred at the edges so that the audience finds themselves able to connect with the most vile and the most innocent of the cast. The more morbid aspects of the tale are balanced by profound soliloquies, gorgeous stage pictures, and incredible design. It’s everything one could hope for in a new Elizabethan tragedy – poetry, villainy, and ardent passion blended into a gorgeous madness peppered with some good, ol’ fashioned dick jokes.” – Micah Streubel
“One hell of a show… It is not very often you can see a bold performance like that even in a place like Chicago.” – Artur Michalowicz
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- CAST & CREW
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- Opening Soliloquy
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- Wedding Ceremony
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- Nadasdy vents his fury
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- “Heart, petrify, and be as hoary Rock.”
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- “Let them Cry!”
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- “Drugeth! Draw!”
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- “What do I owe this sinful angel’s face?”
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- The Hapsberg Lords
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- Erzi the Forest Witch
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- “Banish fearful thoughts outride”
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- “For what is God? A word. A Surrogate.”
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- Helena Jo seeks a sacrifice
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- The Blood Ritual
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- “The mirror, Kate! Fulfill your highest function.”
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- Jane, the new recruit
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- The ritual concludes
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- “The Gods are beautiful and powerful / and through such blessings display their favorites.”
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- “My God, I prithee only: let me not die an old man’s death alone.”
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- The Sword Dance
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- “My Lord, remove these gilded talons from our throat.”
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- Jane’s Anchoress speech
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- Zavodsky, creepin’
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- The Blood Bath
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- Helena Jo’s Bear speech
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- “Where in the body sits the seat of guilt?”
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- “I will have royal blood!”
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- “What tokens, Lord, what signs of her affection?”
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- Sarah Liz Bell as Katalin
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- “Then call me Goddess evermore. I grant.”
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- Joshua Carroll as King Matthias II
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- The Fall of Bathory
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- “What greater penitence can we be worth / Than t’see ourselves in th’monsters of the Earth?”
Promotional Poster by The Monster Ghost
Costume Renderings by Delena Bradley