Berkeley Rep set to stage saucy new take on ‘Wuthering Heights’

Berkeley Repertory Theatre today announced its 2022-23 season, featuring an acclaimed new take on the classic “Wuthering Heights,” a adaption of the Swedish horror film “Let the Right One In” by the creative team behind “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” and a world premiere play by Ari’el Stachel, the Tony-winning actor who starred in “The Band’s Visit.”

The new season also features a new play by Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage (“Ruined”) and the long-delayed comedy “Cambodian Rock Band.”

“It has been a joy to welcome audiences back to Berkeley Rep over the last six months, to see people coming together to experience the transformative pleasure of live performance,” said artistic director Johanna Pfaelzer. “I am delighted to be joined by these artists who have crafted stories of thrilling theatricality. They are tender, they are terrifying, they are heartfelt and funny. They allow us to explore the range of the human condition, taking us from haunted forests to roadside diners, from Tehran schoolrooms to windswept moors.”

Here’s a look at the new season.

“Wuthering Heights”: The season kicks off in November with the West Coast premiere of celebrated British stage actor and director Emma Rice’s audacious and acclaimed reinvention of “Wuthering Heights,” Emily Brontë’s gothic love story. Rice directs the touring production featuring her Wise Children theatrical company.

“Clyde’s”: Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage brings her 2021 comedy to Berkeley Rep in early 2023. The show takes place in a Pennsylvania truck stop with a caustic boss and a staff of ex-con cooks who embark on a quest to make the perfect sandwich. The play has been nominated for four Tony Awards, including best play.

“Cambodian Rock Band”: Delayed from the 2021-22 season by COVID concerns, this dark comedy featuring music by the L.A. band Dengue Fever follows a survivor of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime returning to Cambodia for the first time in 30 years, as his daughter prepares to prosecute an alleged war criminal. It’s inspired by a true story.

“English”: Iranian American playwright Sanaz Toossi’s acclaimed new comedy, which opened on Broadway earlier this year, is centered on four students taking an English class in Iran. It opens in April 2023.

“Let the Right One In”: The Swedish vampire/horror film was adapted to the stage in 2013 by Jack Thorne, John Tiffany and Steven Hoggett (aka the creative team behind “Cursed Child”). It focuses on a bullied young boy and his mysterious new friend and protector. It opens in the spring of 2023.

“Out of Character”: Former Berkeley Rep artistic director Tony Taccone returns to helm the world premiere of Ari’el Stachel’s solo show. Stachel, best known as an actor who won a 2018 Tony Award for his performance in “The Band’s Visit,” describes the piece as a “deeply personal story about identity, culture, and mental health.” The show will close the 2022-23 season.

Several season ticket packages will be available, starting at $79-$269. Single tickets will go on sale at a later date. Go to berkeleyrep.org to purchase packages or more information.