Soho Rep

Soho Rep
Name	Soho Rep
Type	Off-Broadway theatre company
Location	New York City
Founded	1975
Founders	Robert Vickrey; Luisa Leal
Artistic director	Ben Krywosz (artistic director), TBD (managing director)
Genre	New plays, experimental theatre, premieres

Soho Rep Soho Rep is an Off-Broadway theatre company in New York City known for producing new plays and experimental work. Founded in 1975, it has developed relationships with playwrights, directors, designers, and actors associated with contemporary theatre movements and has premiered influential works that intersect with art institutions, festivals, and academic programs. The company is historically connected to downtown performance scenes, collaborations with international theatres, and recognition from major awards and critics.

History

Soho Rep was founded in 1975 during the postmodern downtown theatre expansion associated with figures like Richard Foreman, David Mamet, Lee Breuer, and venues such as La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Stage 73, and Walkerspace. Early seasons reflected influences from European avant-garde companies including Théâtre de Complicité, Complicité, Schaubühne, and directors like Peter Brook and Wim Wenders who were reshaping theatre-film intersections. The company moved through several Lower Manhattan spaces amid the cultural shifts following events such as the 1980s New York financial crisis and the September 11 attacks before establishing a longer-term home that engaged with institutions like The New School, New York University, and traveling festivals such as Under the Radar Festival and Next Wave Festival. Over decades Soho Rep cultivated relationships with playwrights linked to the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award, and the Obie Awards circuits, positioning itself within networks including National New Play Network, TAP American Theatre Project, and international exchanges with Berliner Festspiele.

Mission and Artistic Vision

The company’s mission emphasizes artist-driven development, collaboration with playwrights and directors such as Claudia Rankine, Sarah Kane, Annie Baker, Elliot Page (as collaborator), Martyna Majok, and a commitment to adventurous staging and interdisciplinary design. Its artistic vision draws from experimental scenography traditions exemplified by designers like Santiago Calatrava (architecture parallels), Ridley Scott (cinematic staging), and influences from institutions including Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, and Tate Modern in cross-disciplinary projects. Soho Rep’s programming often engages with social and political themes reflected in works that dialogue with movements and events like Black Lives Matter, Me Too movement, Immigration and Nationality Act debates, and global crises covered by outlets such as The New York Times and The New Yorker.

Notable Productions and Premieres

Soho Rep has premiered and produced works that later transferred to venues such as Broadway, Lincoln Center Theater, and international stages like Royal Court Theatre and Young Vic. Notable premieres include plays by Mac Rogers, Young Jean Lee, Eleanor Burgess, Cristin Milioti (performances), Taylor Mac, Mac Wellman, Enoch Brater, and Adam Rapp. The company has staged early works by artists who later received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award including collaborations with directors like Lynne Meadow, Anne Bogart, Ivo van Hove, and Peter Sellars. Soho Rep presentations have intersected with festivals and programs such as Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival, and international showcases at Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Company Members and Leadership

Leadership over the years has included artistic directors, managing directors, and board members connected to theatre practitioners like Oskar Eustis, Carole Rothman, Jo Bonney, and producers affiliated with Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab and New Dramatists. Company members have included actors, playwrights, and designers who work across institutions such as Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Atlantic Theater Company, Roundabout Theatre Company, and Public Theater. Resident and affiliated artists have also maintained academic ties with programs at Yale School of Drama, Columbia University School of the Arts, Juilliard School, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and fellowships like Guthrie Theater residencies.

Facilities and Performance Space

Soho Rep’s performance history is tied to Manhattan neighborhoods including SoHo, Manhattan, Greenwich Village, and off-Broadway venues near Houston Street and Spring Street. Its spaces have been configured for experimental staging akin to black box theaters found at Playwrights Horizons, LaMama, and New York Theatre Workshop, with technical and design collaborations involving firms and individuals associated with Metropolitan Opera, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), and museum-based performance programs at MoMA PS1. The company has adapted to shifting real estate and zoning contexts influenced by New York City redevelopment projects and cultural policy debates involving New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and private patrons linked to foundations like the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

Awards and Recognition

Soho Rep and its artists have received multiple honors from organizations including the Obie Awards, the Lucille Lortel Awards, the Drama Desk Awards, and nominations connected to the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Awards through transfers. Individual playwrights and directors associated with the company have garnered fellowships and prizes from entities such as the MacArthur Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, NEA, and the Helen Merrill Foundation. Critical recognition has come from outlets and critics affiliated with The New York Times, Variety (magazine), The Village Voice, and arts institutions that curate annual performance lists and retrospectives at venues like Lincoln Center and Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Category:Theatre companies in New York City