New York Classical Theatre, Inc.

Our Mission

New York Classical Theatre’s mission is to reinvigorate and create audiences for the theatre by presenting free productions of popular classics and forgotten masterpieces that pop up in non-traditional public spaces throughout the five boroughs. We are the only all-free professional theatre in New York City.

Our free productions currently pop up outdoors in Central Park, The Battery, Battery Park City Parks, Prospect Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park and indoors in Brookfield Place and One Liberty Plaza.

New York Classical’s hallmark is Panoramic Theatre, a style created by Founding Artistic Director, Stephen Burdman, to build a unique relationship between the actor, audience and venue. Scripts are adapted to fully embrace each performance space and through the influence of 19th century staging and single camera cinema techniques, the audience is placed at the center of the action of the play, giving them access to a deeply immersive theatrical experience.

Our outdoor productions in expansive public locations push Panoramic Theatre further. At each performance, the audience follows the actors from place to place as the plot unfolds from scene to scene, following the journey of the characters. Using different areas to stage specific scenes opens up endless creative possibilities for performers and our audience. By utilizing large physical environments as our playing arenas, audiences literally inhabit the world of the play and become active participants in the drama unfolding around them.

By offering our Off-Broadway performances for free, we ensure that all people, regardless of their economic, ethnic or educational background have access to the highest quality professional theatre. Our open rehearsals in public venues also allow our audience to observe the evolution of a production while demystifying the language and poetry of classical theatre.

We firmly believe that the themes of the classics remain relevant to the lives of all New Yorkers today. Through the lens of classical theatre, we come to better understand human nature and our role in contemporary life. As a result, our free performances build new and future audiences for live theatre by attracting many underserved and non-traditional spectators.