Although Shrewd Productions has long focused on new work, the company has always had a powerful passion for the Bard. (Shrewd's very name is a Shakespearean reference: "She was damnably curst and shrewd.) It seems only fitting that a company named for cursed Kate should fly the banner for Shakespeare with an eye to gender parity and diversity in casting. Hence, Shakespeare: REPRESENT.

The first production of the series, As You Like It, will run at Trinity Street Theatre from February 19 - March 6, 2016. The cast is comprised of 9 women and 5 men, playing 24 roles, with most actors playing cross-gender. However, Shrewd has gone beyond just trying to open up a few more roles for women. With director Lily Wolff's concept, the production explores the fluidity of fluidity and ambiguity of gender that was truly at the heart of Shakespeare's work. Expect to see an As You Like It that stays unwaveringly true to Shakespeare's text, but unlike ANY you've ever seen before.