The Winter’s Tale

The Winter’s Tale takes us on an extraordinary journey. King Leontes falls prey to an inexplicable jealousy of his wife Hermione; it causes her (apparent) death and the (actual) death of his young son Mamillius. Sixteen years of repentance, supervised by Paulina, lead to scenes of reunion and reconciliation — but without concealing the cost in human terms. This is a slightly shortened version of the text of The Winter’s Tale as printed in the First Folio of Shakespeare’s works (1623). The opening sequence, divided between various voices, and the first half of Scene Twelve, draw upon, and re-shape, the more extended versions of the original.