Tim Robbins' Actors Gang to Perform 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in Beijing in June

Academy Award-winning actor Tim Robbins' Actors Gang is coming to Beijing in June, to present, appropriately, Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's DreamThe Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

The play will get a five-day run at the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) from June 10-15, then four performances over three days in Shanghai, June 19-21. Ticket information for both performances is already online, although tickets for the Beijing shows are not yet on sale.

Robbins, the Actors Gang's artistic director, will direct the China performances, the LA Times said. He is best known for his Oscar-winning supporting role in The Shawshank Redemption, and for baseball movie Bull Durham.

Although Robbins isn't performing, Beijing stages are occasionally graced with top Western acting talent in top productions. Kevin Spacey appeared in Richard III in late 2011, to wide acclaim. In 1984, Arthur Miller directed a production of his Death of a Salesman in Beijing. Yes, I realize that's a big gap between 1984 and 2011. There was also the whole Chicago debacle earlier this year.

Photo: Wikipedia