The name for Fermat’s Last Theater came about because one member of the company, upon re-reading The Merchant of Venice, had an idea for a production, but as with the 17th century mathematician, his conception was too large to include all the details in the margin of the of text.
We are a political theater—we stage works that explore issues of class, race and gender. Founded as a Shakespeare company in 2013, we have in recent years been exploring the genre of documentary theater—theater about real people, events and social movements.
We are a free theater. You will never be asked to buy a ticket to gain admittance to any of our work. We believe that being a political theater is inextricably linked with being a free theater. We pay our performers, and rely on a network of individual donors and city, state and national granting agencies to fund our shows. At the end of each performance, we do ask for free will donations for those able to contribute.
We do serious work—recent shows have focused on the life and death of labor radical Joe Hill, the dark and disorienting Parables of Franz Kafka, and the sacrifices women soldiers made in the Soviet army in World War II, and the life and work of Langston Hughes.
For more information visit their website, find them on Facebook at facebook.com/FLTCo or send an email to fermatstheatermadison@gmail.com.