Chautauqua Theater Company, the resident theatre company of Chautauqua Institution, will produce the world premiere of Kate Hamill’s The Light and The Dark next year.

Directed by Producing Artistic Director Jade King Carroll, the play will be staged during the final two weeks of the Summer Assembly, which runs June 22–August 25, 2024, in Chautauqua, New York.

The Light and The Dark spotlights Artemisia Gentileschi, the most successful female painter of the 17th century who aspired to attain immortality through her groundbreaking work. However, her journey took an unexpected turn, marked by a series of brutal betrayals that forever altered her life and art. The new play delves into the impact of art in assuaging trauma and explores the transformative power of female rage in reshaping societal paradigms.

CTC, which previously staged Hamill's production of Pride and Prejudice, hosted the first public reading of The Light and The Dark last summer. In partnership with the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, CTC is also producing a developmental workshop this month, which will culminate in a private reading in New York City.

“We are thrilled to welcome Kate back to Chautauqua Theater Company, and we are beyond excited to be producing the world premiere of The Light and The Dark,” said Producing Artistic Director Carroll. “Fostering this play from a finishing commission to its first public reading to a world premiere is both an honor and a delight for us at CTC, and we can’t wait to share it with you this coming summer! What could be more exciting than a new Kate Hamill play centered on the brave, witty, pioneering female painter Artemisia Gentileschi?!”

Tickets will go on sale in February. For more information click here.