The tents will rise again on Vancouver’s waterfront as Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival’s 33rd Season returns after two years of dark pandemic-related stages. Tickets are on sale now for three plays and special events in this year’s Festival, running June 8 to September 24, 2022.
Bard’s single BMO Mainstage production is A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare’s best-loved comedy, filled with laughter, love and magic. On the Howard Family Stage there are two innovative productions: Djanet Sears’ Harlem Duet, a powerful drama with connections to Othello, and Romeo and Juliet, the timeless story of two young people who risk everything for their love.
“It’s thrilling for our Festival to return this summer and we are busy preparing three incredible productions to welcome our patrons back to Sen?ákw/Vanier Park,” said Christopher Gaze, Bard on the Beach Founding Artistic Director. “It’s time again for laughter and magic and to that end, A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be our single production on the BMO Mainstage. This joyful production is perfect for all ages and is designed to lift the spirits of everyone who sees it. On the Howard Family Stage, our two productions highlight Bard’s commitment to artistic innovation in theatre; they both feature powerful stories told in a unique way.”
THE PLAYS
The season begins on June 8 with Shakespeare’s comic masterpiece A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It follows four young lovers and a troupe of stumbling actors into an enchanted wood, on a journey of discovery to find out who they are, whom they love, and why it matters. They enter an alternate world where the natural and supernatural have merged and elves, goblins, and talking trees guide the way. Dream is directed by veteran Bard director and actor Scott Bellis (director – The Two Gentlemen of Verona, 2017; Bottom – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2014).
The Governor-General’s Award-winning drama Harlem Duet is a powerful story about passion and betrayal, with links to Shakespeare’s Othello. It imagines Othello with a first wife, Billie – the woman he married before Desdemona. Their story plays out in three key eras in the American Black Experience: 1860, before the US Emancipation Proclamation; 1928, during New York’s Harlem Renaissance; and in post-civil rights 1997. Harlem Duet is directed by versatile actor-director Cherissa Richards (Stratford and Shaw Festivals).
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Julietis the timeless story of two young people who fall deeply in love in spite of their families’ bitter conflict. Their passion – and Juliet’s courage – have inspired young and old through the centuries and all over the world. And now more than ever, the story of a feud between “two households alike in dignity” leaves us with the hope that even the world’s greatest wounds can be healed through love. This production of Romeo and Juliet casts a particular light on Juliet’s point of view; it’s directed by Anita Rochon, Co-Artistic Director of The Chop Theatre.
The Plays’ run dates for 2022 are:
· A Midsummer Night’s Dream – June 8 to September 24 – Opening Night June 16
· Harlem Duet – June 15 to July 17 – Opening Night June 21
· Romeo and Juliet – August 3 to September 24 – Opening Night August 9
Regular Adult tickets are on sale now and start at $27 including fees & taxes and.
Prices for special events, group bookings and multi-play ticket packages can be found online at bardonthebeach.org or by calling the Bard Box Office at 604-739-0559.
Booking soon is recommended for best seat selection (all seats are reserved) with many performances selling out in advance.