As the current, 30th, season of Bard on the Beach adds more shows to the just opened Coriolanus, Artistic Director Christopher Gaze has announced the lineup for the Festival’s 31st Season.
Running from June 11 to September 26, 2020, under the tents at Vanier Park, the quartet of plays in the 31st Season of Bard on the Beach includes the most popular play in Bard’s history, a thrilling historical drama, a music-filled Jazz Age romance and a provocative contemporary play based on Milton’s Paradise Lost.
On the BMO Mainstage, the beloved comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which has delighted audiences around the world and across the ages, plays inrepertory with Shakespeare’s epic historical tale, Henry V. The Howard Family Stage offers two contrasting productions: Love’s Labour’s Lost, a restaging of Bard’s 2015 hit Jazz Age production, alternating with Paradise Lost, a critically acclaimed modern take on the battle between good and evil. Says Gaze: “Our 31st Season is designed to entertain and inspire live theatre lovers of all kinds. It offers tempting choices for one and all, whether you’re a committed Shakespeare fan or you’ve never seen a play at Bard before.”
The 31st Bard on the Beach season includes:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Directed by Scott Bellis (The Two Gentlemen of Verona, 2017).
BMO Mainstage – June 11 – September 26
Shakespeare’s comic masterpiece is set against a backdrop of early Industrial Revolution, enter into a place where the natural and supernatural worlds have merged, with elves, goblins, and talking trees guiding the way.
Henry V – Directed by Lois Anderson (The Taming of the Shrew, 2019; Lysistrata, 2018).
BMO Mainstage – June 12 – September 20.Set in a mythical realm and inspired by medieval fantasy, Henry V is a sweeping, emotional tale of two kingdoms at war with Kate Besworth (The Taming of the Shrew, 2019) playing King Henry.
Love’s Labour’s Lost – Directed again by Daryl Cloran (As You Like It, 2018; Shakespeare in Love, 2019).
Howard Family Stage – July 3 – September 26.
This revival of Bard’s 2015 hit makes a joyous return to 1920s Jazz Age Chicago and is filled with live performances of American Songbook classics.
Paradise Lost – by Erin Shields Directed by Anita Rochon (Cymbeline, 2015).
Howard Family Stage – from July 10 – September 20
The battle is on for the souls of Adam and Eve, in this provocative retelling of John Milton’s epic poem, Paradise Lost. First produced by the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in 2018, this is the play’s first Western Canadian staging, Jessie Award-winner Colleen Wheeler plays Satan.
The 31st Season will also offer the audience favourite special events, from orchestral and opera concerts to the popular Bard-B-Q & Fireworks nights.
Advance 2020 Bard Season Packs are on sale now, offering a substantial discount on tickets to all four productions. Order Season Packs now at bardonthebeach.org or by calling the Bard Box Office at 604-739-0559.