In Conversation with Yaël Farber Thursday, July 31, 11am ET
Join us live for an exciting conversation with theatre director and playwright Yaël Farber, in collaboration with ATHE.
Yaël Farber is the multiple award-winning playwright and director behind The Crucible (The Old Vic, 2014), Mies Julie (Edinburgh Fringe, 2013), and most recently, a critically-acclaimed production of King Lear (2024, Almeida Theatre).
Yaël Farber will be in conversation with Drew Lichtenberg, a dramaturg and frequent collaborator with Yaël.
Attendees of this event will gain insights into...
- Directing for the stage: Hear how Yaël's process differs from preparing major revivals to directing her own work.
- Major influences and themes: Hear what has influenced Yaël's work, from South African Protest Theatre to her relationship with power, conflict, and tragedy.
- Staging the Shakespeare canon: Find out what keeps Yaël returning to Shakespeare, from Macbeth and Hamlet, to her most recent production of King Lear.
By signing up for this event, you will also unlock a one-week trial to the Digital Theatre+ platform, where you can watch Yaël Farber's The Crucible, filmed live at The Old Vic Theatre.
Please note: This webinar is designed for use at the university level, but is open to all educators. If you are not an educator, unfortunately we cannot collect your data and so will not be able to accept your registration for this event.

Yaël Farber
Yaël Farber is a multiple award-winning director and playwright of international acclaim. Her productions have toured extensively worldwide, earning her a reputation for hard-hitting, controversial works of the highest artistic standard.
Farber most recently directed KING LEAR to critical acclaim at The Almeida Theatre in London (2024). Other directing credits include:
- The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021) at the Almeida Theatre, starring 4x Oscar-nominee Saiorse Ronan
- A revisioning of Hamlet starring Oscar and Tony-nominee Ruth Negga at The Gate Theatre, Dublin, and St. Anne's Warehouse in Brooklyn, NYC (2020)
- Lorraine Hansberry's unfinished final work, Les Blancs, reworked and directed for the National Theatre (2016) and in London to powerful critical acclaim
- Salomé (written and directed by Farber) for Washington's Shakespeare Theatre Company (2015), which was nominated for 10 Helen Hayes Awards, and won 7, including Best Director and Best Play 2015, and transferred to the National Theatre in London (2017)
- Mies Julie (2012), a rewrite of Strindberg's Miss Julie which took the Edinburgh Festival by storm, won multiple international awards, and toured internationally for several years
- The Crucible (2014) for The Old Vic, which garnered ten 5-star reviews from the UK's top national press, and an Olivier-nomination for Best Revival
Her productions have toured across the major cities of the USA, the UK, Europe, Africa, Canada, Australia, Japan, Asia and the India, United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Hong Kong. She has been an invitee at the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab (NYC), a guest artist at Mabou Mines Theatre Company (NYC), Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Berlin), The Public Theater (NYC) and the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab (Utah). Farber served as Head of the Directing Program at the National Theatre School of Canada between 2009 and 2012.
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Drew Lichtenberg
Drew Lichtenberg is a dramaturg who is proud to have worked with Yaël Farber on many projects.
His work has appeared at the Royal National Theatre in London, the Royal Shakespeare Company, on Broadway (and off-off Broadway), and at regional theaters around the United States.
As Artistic Producer of Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., he has produced more than 60 productions since 2011, from classics to major world premieres and international presentations.
He has taught at Yale University, the New School, and the Catholic University of America; his columns have appeared in The New York Times, among other journals; and he is the author of two books, The Piscatorbühne Century (Routledge: 2021) and Shakespeare in the Theatre: Shakespeare Theatre Company (Arden Bloomsbury, 2024). He holds a doctorate of fine arts from Yale School of Drama.