Originally called The St. Louis Shakespeare Company, Saint Louis Shakespeare was founded by Artistic Director Donna Northcott in 1984 to perform Shakespeare's plays and other dramatic classics. The Company was initially started as a summer festival, presenting plays in rotating repertory. The Company now presents three Shakespeare plays and one classic play between July and March of each year. Since 1995, the Company's home has been the beautifully restored Grandel Theater in the Grand Center Arts and Entertainment District of St. Louis, located between Powell Symphony Hall and the Fox Theater on Grand Avenue.

St. Louis Shakespeare has produced more than three quarters of Shakespeare's plays, as well as the works of other classical playwrights such as Aristophanes, Euripides, Feydeau, Oscar Wilde, Sheridan, Moliere, Shaw and more modern playwrights such as Arthur Miller and Tom Stoppard.

St. Louis Shakespeare is committed to introducing classical theater to middle and high school students. As a result, there are special weekday matinee performances of the last two plays of the season that are for school and home school students only. The 2006 fall matinee performances of Antony & Cleopatra drew over 1,500 students from different schools in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

In 1995 the Company added a touring show to its schedule. The Company's touring shows currently include The Emperor's New Clothes and The 45 Minute Macbeth. These shows are designed for students in grades K-8.

In 1996, a spin-off company, Magic Smoking Monkey Theatre, was born. Each spring, Magic Smoking Monkey Theatre presents an original, late-night comedy. 2003 was our biggest success to date, with our production of the One-Hour Star Wars Trilogy: LIVE! In November 2004, Magic Smoking Monkey Theatre presented our first holiday special, It's A Wonderful Life: LIVE!

2006 saw the first Shakespeare Boot Camp for students grade 9-12. the talented group of students spent three weeks in late summer rehearsing and taking part in intensive workshops with local theatre professionals culminating in a full production.