Live theatre is back at Bard on the Beach after two dark summers
Shakespeare festival announces 2022 programming, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and special events
Bard on the Beach.
BARD ON THE BEACH Shakespeare Festival returns toSen̓ákw/Vanier Park for its 33rd anniversary, after two years of pandemic-induced dark stages.
The season begins on June 8 with Shakespeare's comic masterpiece A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bard’s single BMO Mainstage show. With official opening night taking place on June 16, A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be directed by veteran Bard director and actor Scott Bellis (director of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, 2017; Bottom, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2014) and runs to September 24.
Two productions are set to take place on the Howard Family Stage: Harlem Duet and Romeo and Juliet.
Djanet Sears’s Harlem Duet, running June 15 to July 17, with opening night on June 21, is a Governor-General’s Award-winning drama 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 actor-director Cherissa Richards (Stratford and Shaw Festivals).
Romeo and Juliet takes place August 3 to September 24 (opening night August 9). Directed by Anita Rochon, co-artistic director of the Chop Theatre, this production casts a particular light on Juliet’s point of view.
“It’s thrilling for our Festival to return this summer and we are busy preparing three incredible productions to welcome our patrons back to Sen̓ákw/Vanier Park,” Bard on the Beach founding artistic director Christopher Gaze said in a release. “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.
Special events linked up for 2022 include VSO at Bard, with Vancouver Symphony Orchestra playing favourite classical masterpieces under the direction of VSO Concertmaster Nicholas Wright; Bard-B-Q & Fireworks; Operas & Arias: A Celebration!, featuring young stars of the UBC Opera Ensemble performing some of opera’s best-loved repertoire on the BMO Mainstage; and Wine Wednesdays.
There are also Accessible Performances: Family Days / Relaxed Performances, Forum – Challenging Shakespeare, Bard Explored, and more.
Tickets for all plays and events are now on sale at bardonthebeach.org/tickets/.
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