ARCHDUKE

About the show

Three boys – Gavrilo Princip, Trifko Grabež, and Nedeljko Čabrinović – are recruited by a mysterious organization with promises of glory, purpose, and a sandwich. Their depraved Captain sends the boys on a mission he claims will restore order and justice to their struggling nation and avenge the unfairness of their terminal illness. Their assignment? Assassinate the heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife, Sophie. Beloved playwright Rajiv Joseph (Describe the Night) returns to the Wilma with a play that asks, what happens when a person feels like they have nothing left to lose? What methods are acceptable in the fight against oppression? Led by the Wilma’s visionary Founding Artistic Director Blanka Zizka (Heroes of the Fourth Turning, Kill Move Paradise), and featuring the HotHouse Acting Company, Archduke offers audiences a humanized glimpse into the catalyst of WWI.