The Classical Theatre Company is dedicated to boldly re-envisioning classical drama on the stage, in the community, and in the classroom through engaging and enlightening plays that brings them new life and relevance while maintaining the integrity that the works deserve. The Classical Theatre Company is the only professional theatre company in the Houston area that produces year round classical drama.

The Classical Theatre Company was born in late 2006 when, inspired by a casual conversation about Houston theatre at a Christmas party, theatre professional John Johnston came to the conclusion that there was a distinct niche to fill in the local community. Recognizing the unwavering popularity of classical drama both regionally and worldwide, as well as the noticeable lack of year-round classical theatre in the Bayou City, he began traveling down the path that laid itself before him.

For its 2008-2009 inaugural season, CTC audiences enjoyed two very successful productions and a full three-installment reading series, highlighted by a reading of Benedictus and the inaugural production, Shylock, the Jew of Venice, an adaptation from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. Following up its achievements the next season with a bold one-man adaptation of Hamlet as well as the smash hit production of Moliere’s Tartuffe, CTC continued to garner high praise from its audiences and critics alike.

In a landmark 2010-2011 third season, CTC added a third full production to its Mainstage including a co-production with the Prague Shakespeare Festival of As You Like It and King Lear. These Shakespearean classics combined local Houston and European artists with runs of the shows both in Houston and in Prague to rave reviews in each venue.

In the fall of 2014, after producing in eight different venues through its first six seasons, CTC moved into its own facility in Chelsea Market, where it produced all three of its Mainstage productions. This marked a turning point in the company’s life as it now had a permanent home from which to coordinate all of its programming and operations.

Using the clear need for the CTC’s services as well as its dynamic artists as its engine, the company has been able to garner support in many vital areas necessary to the successful achievement of its mission. As this support continues to build, we at the Classical Theatre Company look forward to making the future of classical drama as bright as its past.