BWBTC’S PAST PRODUCTIONS
Going Strong Since 1997
Fall 2023
When the widowed Duchess of Malfi chooses to love again, honestly and defiantly, the men in her family do everything in their power to break those that would dare to flout the unspoken rules of a “traditional” society… [click for more Duchess of Malfi]
Fall 2022
Cass was hoping her annual camping trip would go well this year. But with her best friend Emilie sniping at Cass’s new girlfriend Jessica, not to mention the serial killer on the loose, the weekend is off to a rocky start. [click for more Plaid As Hell]
Summer 2022
BWBTC Shakespeare’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,”… [click for more Richard III]
SUMMER 2019
Seventy-five years in the future, an all-female crew and their male captain depart on what appears to be a routine mission to Mars until the captain is murdered and the real mission comes to light. Part murder mystery, part space thriller… [click for more Women of 4G]
SPRING 2019
Othello is a brilliant general with the support of the Venetian government and an army behind him. But when he promotes Cassio over Iago, madness and jealousy take over… [click for more Othello]
SUMMER 2018
A young maiden, Trothe, learns that her entire inheritance will be forfeit to anyone that bests her in a duel once she comes of age. The catch? Her birthday is in a week. She must turn to her Aunt... [click for more Lady Demands]
WINTER 2018
The Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), led by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel, was the primary militant group pushing for women’s suffrage in the United Kingdom. Under the slogan “Deeds, not words,” the WSPU advocated... [click for more Good Fight]
FALL 2017
A mishap in her father’s lab gave Scarlet O’Neil the power of invisibility – a power she promised him she’d never use. But Daddy never knew there’d be days like these… [click for more Scarlet O'Neil]
WINTER 2017
Ascending the throne of England after the death of his father, young Henry V faces suspicion from within his country and pressure from without. Hoping to unite his kingdom... [click for more Henry V]
SUMMER 2016
The Promise of a Rose Garden explores what it means to be a soldier and the far-reaching effects of war. It focuses on Captain Rockford, one of the first 3 women to pass the US Marine Infantry Officer Course.
[click for more Promise]
SPRING 2016
A love story wrapped in a mystery, 180 Degree Rule explores the conflicting realities that emerge as history is distorted by passage of time and shifting points of view. [click for more 180 Degree]
SUMMER 2015
California-bound and down on her luck, Emmy Fox finds refuge working for a widowed shopkeeper and her two daughters. But they soon discover that the past can follow you over miles and years, and secrets can be as dangerous... [click for more Patchwork]
WINTER 2015
"Vengeance is in my heart, death in my hand, Blood and revenge are hammering in my head"
--Aaron the Moor
William Shakespeare's bloodiest, most horrifying tragedy told by an all female cast. [click for more Titus]
SUMMER 2014
Mass hysteria grips a colonial town as public witch hunts pit brother against brother. But when local witches attempt to band together to stop the madness, they quickly discover that sister against sister can be far more wicked. [click for more Witch Slap!]
SPRING 2014
A decadent, gender-twisted take on Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Rigoletto.
[click for more L'Imbecile]
SUMMER 2013
Girl Friday Bo Thomas has been doing the bulk of the detecting for the Sam Lowell Detective Agency, squeaking by on nickel-dime petty theft jobs, waiting for that first big case... [click for more Bo Thomas]
SPRING 2013
AWAKE YOUR SENSES!
Babes With Blades Theatre Company reprises our popular all-female cast format to present Shakespeare’s tale of love, loyalty, and betrayal. As classical simplicity meets modern ambiguity – when the honorable path is clouded by conspiracy – how do you choose where to stand? [click for more Julius Caesar]
SUMMER 2012
Meet Susan Swayne and the Society of Lady Detectives – aside from their interest in swordplay, they’re all perfectly proper Victorian women. Or are they? When the distraught Isabelle Fontaine-Kite insists... [click for more Susan Swayne]
SPRING 2012
Fresh from a funeral, sisters Diane and Becky dig through a landfill – and family grievances – in search of the letter from their dying mother that Becky threw away unopened. [click for more Trash]
FALL 2011
Screwball comedy meets swashbuckler in this world-premiere tribute to Cyrano de Bergerac and the 1940’s. [click for more Double]
SPRING 2011
Babes With Blades Theatre Company takes on the classic tale of star-crossed lovers! [click for more R&J]
SUMMER 2010
Follow Ismene, sole surviving child of Oedipus and Jocasta, as she fights to break the curse that devastated her family and now threatens to destroy Thebes. [click for more Last Daughter]
SPRING 2010
You do what you have to – to survive.
Winner of the Joining Sword & Pen 2009-10 competition, this gritty new work took place in a Siberian gulag in the post-war Soviet Union. There Masha, Svetlana, Lubov, Prushka, and newcomer Anastasia navigated a brutal world of shifting alliances and betrayals. Who survived? [click for more Gulag]
SPRING 2009
BWBTC brings to Chicago our first, All-Female cast, Shakespeare production!
Enter a Scotland wracked by treachery and possessed by supernatural forces – a kingdom where loyalty is fatal, ambition is madness and no motivation is pure.
[click for more MacBeth]
FALL 2008
Election Day, 2004: A simple ride to the polls turns into a hostage situation in Mark Burns’ raucous political comedy featuring Anne Coulter, Oscar Wilde, Antigone, King Lear, and the ringtone version of I Won’t Back Down.
Will “calm” tea conquer partisan hysteria?
[click for more Land]
SPRING 2008
Set in 16th-century Spain, Los Desaparecidos, is a romantic play that explores the impact of family ties, societal pressures, and unexpected love on the lives of two sisters... [click for more Los Desaparecidos]
FALL 2007
You haven’t got a hope in hell.
Vampires, cannibals, and zombies populated three one-acts and five monologues by Chicago playwright Darren Callahan. Presented promenade-style in the intimate environs of the North Lakeside Cultural Center, these pieces put horror in the air, blood on the walls, and combat... [click for more Horror]
SPRING 2007
In this take on Dumas’s classic romance, the masked prisoner Louise Marchiali was the most dangerous secret in the Bastille – the unknown twin sister of King Louis XIV. Louise got to taste freedom when the Duchess of Montpensier discovered her and plotted with Artemis... [click for more Iron Mask]
FALL 2006
It’s your story, and we’ll fight if you want us to! We put our audiences in control of this action-packed extravaganza. The patrons guided their heroines through multiple plot lines to face challenges, adventure, and even instant death... [click for more Adventure]
SUMMER 2006
Take a fantastical safari to Once Upon a Time!
Guest artists at the beautiful First Folio Theatre, we put a new spin on traditional fairy tales: allowing our audiences to observe favorite heroines and villains... [click for more Fairy Tales]
SPRING 2006
Every Picture Tells A Story – Or Two…
Presenting the winners of Joining Sword & Pen 2005-6!
Mrs. Dire’s House of Crumpets & Solutions – Byron Hatfield
Satisfaction – Tony Wolf
[click for more Affair of Honor]
FALL 2005
Presented as a series of clips from an Entertainment Tonight-style media event, the 12 original scenes lovingly skewered comedy, drama, horror, and more... [click for more Cliffhangers]
SPRING 2003
A music video countdown hosted by a VJ with an axe to grind!
This collection of 15 fight scenes was set to music ranging from chartbusters to well-known classics. Combat filled... [click for more Music Videos]
SPRING 2002
STAGE COMBAT(TLE). A live-action chess match between Babes With Blades and R&D Choreography’s Fightshop with each troupe providing actors to play the pieces and a demonstration of stage combat acumen to mark each capture on the board.
[click for more Combat Chess]
WINTER 1999
We reclaimed the most famous fight roles in the theatrical canon, from Hamlet to Cyrano. Interspersed among the familiar fights were monologues recounting the exploits of real-life women warriors: a subtle comment on the heritage that rightfully belongs to the fairer sex as well. [click for more Run 4]
SUMMER 1998
Have blade, will travel!
We took a leaner, meaner version of Run 2 to the Edinburgh Fringe Fest, with an abbreviated cast and fights adjusted to fit on a postage stamp. [click for more Run 3]
WINTER 1998
If a benevolent playwright offered to create a show just for you, what part would you play? Made up of all-new scenes composed by the cast, as well as a few old favorites, Run 2 gave Chicago audiences a taste of the kinds of roles the Babes wish were available... [click for more Run 2]
FALL 1997
Our first full run! Like the showcase, the show again featured scenes composed by the cast. Each vignette was woven into the creation story of Durga, an Indian warrior goddess brought into being by male gods in their hour of need. A mighty warrior, she quickly... [click for more Run 1]
ORIGIN STORY - SPRING 1997
Entirely assembled by the cast members, the showcase aimed to bring to the Chicago art world an awareness of the large number of stage combat trained women it had in its midst... [click for more Origin Story]