Oberon Theatre Ensemble is an active player in New York’s independent theatre community. Each season we combine classic, contemporary, and new works in a format that allows each to highlight and enhance the other. We juxtapose new against old in a single evening or in a repertory schedule, with our ensemble of actors and directors nimbly jumping from one world to another to draw our audiences fully into the experience.

We believe in the joy of a well told story, the connection offered by a supportive community, and the magic of the theatre. Oberon actively works to share this magic with others by reaching out to the community. We offer discounted student and senior tickets to our performances, and create shows that we can bring to schools, senior centers, and hospitals. We have also presented shows free in Central Park and strive to keep all our offerings affordable.

Our commitment to cultivating and invigorating a diverse theatre community remains steadfast.  In a time when Off-Broadway theatres are closing, ensemble theatre groups are all but unheard of, arts funding largely nonexistent, and theatres both large and small focused on finding the next big commercial hit, Oberon remains your community performance arts theatre.

“Orson’s Shadow,” based on true events, takes place on the stage of the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin and later on the stage of the Royal Court Theatre. In his declining years, Orson Welles is directing a production of Eugène Ionesco’s “Rhinoceros,” starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright. Olivier is fresh from his triumphant theatrical portrayal of vaudevillian Archie Rice in John Osborne’s “The Entertainer” and is about to reprise the role in its film adaptation. He and Plowright are in the early stages of a romantic liaison and his tumultuous marriage to Vivien Leigh is all but ended. The noted critic Kenneth Tynan becomes entangled in the conflicts between Welles, Olivier, and Leigh, adding tension and complexity to their relationships and influencing their decisions and perceptions. The play debates the merits of stage versus screen, the internal struggle that theatrical performers endure when contemplating a leap to films, and the ways the studio system frustrated the careers of individual artists. It is also a study of theatrical egos, each of the protagonists living more on the stage than in real life, each one feeling insecure while jockeying for power.