Mission
Soho Rep is a "hot house" for the development and production of the very best contemporary theatre, committed to nurturing innovative and uncompromising new work from first impulse through fully mounted production.History
Soho Rep has distinguished itself as a leader in the creation and production of pioneering contemporary theatre. For over thirty years the company, in its home on Walker Street since 1991, has been a destination for groundbreaking theater. Soho Rep artists have gone on to be produced at many other leading theaters both in the United States and internationally.Soho Repertory Theater was founded in July 1975 by Jerry Engelbach and Marlene Swartz. As co-artistic directors they produced over a hundred plays. After Engelbach left to pursue other projects, Swartz partnered with English director Julian Webber. Soho Rep's founding mission was to present relatively rare classical plays. After several years producing works from Shakespeare to Shaw, the theater expanded its mission to include rarely seen modern plays and completely new works, the latter of which still holds as the theater's singular mission. In 1998 Daniel Aukin became Artistic Director alongside Executive Director Alexandra Conley. The two produced new work by artists including Adam Bock, Young Jean Lee, Richard Maxwell, Melissa James Gibson, Quincy Long, The Flying Machine and Maria Irene Fornes. In 2006, Sarah Benson became the fourth Artistic Director of the company. She directed the New York premiere of Sarah Kane's BLASTED to critical acclaim in fall 2008, and has produced work by other writers and groups including John Jesurun, Nature Theater of Oklahoma and Dan LeFranc. The artistic journey continues...
