Archduke

by Rajiv Joseph 
directed by Blanka Zizka

April 15 – June 1, 2025

STREAMING May 8 – June 1

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. Watch the trailer here.

Listen: THE REST IS HISTORY PODCAST

This play contains haze, fog, flashing lights, loud sounds, misogynist language, suicidal ideation, the staging of physical violence, limb dislocation and explicit descriptions of homicide.

RUN TIME: 2 hours, 5 mins total (Act I: 1 hr, Intermission: 15 mins, Act II: 50 mins)

IN the press

• Philadelphia Inquirer: A deft play of fact and fiction arises in Wilma Theatre’s ‘Archduke’
• Broad Street Review: Three boys enter a train car The Wilma Theater presents Rajiv Joseph’s Archduke
• Billy Penn: Wilma co-founder Zizka makes her return to direct “Archduke”
• 6abc: Wilma Theater’s Artistic Director Emeritus returns to direct latest production of “Archduke”
• Metro Philadelphia: Wilma Theater co-founder Blanka Zizka returns to direct ‘Archduke’
• New York Times:  “12 Plays and Musicals Across the U.S. to Brighten the Spring”
• The Artblog: “My theater pick for the week… is Archduke”

Honorary Producers

Joan and William Goldstein
Gayle and David Smith

Season Sponsor

Our digital productions are made possible with generous support from the John S and James L Knight Foundation.

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