Antonio!

Join Folger Artist Fellow Ania Upstill for a musical showcase of Antonio! a queer, punk, pirate musical starring Shakespeare’s ultimate dramatic love interest, developed in part during Upstill’s 2024 residency.

What if Shakespeare wasn’t just reusing a character name, but instead was inspired by one hopelessly romantic pirate looking for love in all the wrong places? Antonio! reimagines all of Shakespeare’s Antonios as one proudly queer pirate stealing hearts and booty on the high seas—that is, when he’s not in London, regaling his playwright lover with tales of love and adventure.

Fed up with Will taking his stories but erasing their gay content, Antonio takes the stage with his pirate rock band The Fools for Love, bringing the audience on a journey through the love stories that inspired The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, and The Tempest.

Declared “as intelligent as it is engaging… potentially a cult classic” (The Stage), Antonio! received rave reviews during its 2023 Edinburgh Fringe Festival run and 2025 Australasia tour.