Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department alums are in the cast and production team of Babes With Blades Theatre Company‘s production of William Shakespeare’s historical drama Richard III, presented in partnership with the University of Illinois Chicago’s Disability Cultural Center. The show runs August 25 through October 15 at the Edge Theatre, located at 5451 N. Broadway in Chicago’s Edgewater/Andersonville Theatre District. For tickets, click here.

Kim Fukawa

Rose Hamill

The 13-member ensemble cast includes Columbia College alum Kim Fukawa ’07, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s BA Program in Acting. And Columbia College alum Rose Hamill ’16, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s BA Program in Theatre Technology, is the show’s production manager.

Babes With Blades Theatre Company brings the tale of Shakespeare’s most complex, cruel and fascinating protagonist to life in a new version that accounts for previously disregarded perspectives. BWBTC’s Richard III tells the story of Richard of Gloucester, who uses intelligence, deception and political manipulation towards his ultimate goal: England’s crown. Babes With Blades’ production is a partnership with a project called “Making Inclusive Theatre: Richard III as Disability Art,” a collaboration with the University of Illinois Chicago’s Disability Cultural Center, the UIC Department of Theatre, and Bodies of Work, a network of disability arts and culture. This production of Richard III adds a new layer to the complex tale by making it more inclusive in order to further explore othering and disability culture.