A Midsummer Night's Dream kicks off Bard on the Beach's comeback, to September 24
Fairies, talking trees, and creepy goblins all show up in the production directed by Scott Bellis
Bard on the Beach presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Sen̓ákw/Vanier Park to September 24; Opening night is June 16
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM is an all-time audience favourite at Bard on the Beach, and the story of lovers and fairies in a forest kicks off this year’s festival, its comeback following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Helmed by veteran Bard director and actor Scott Bellis (who directed Shakespeare’s comic masterpiece in 2014 and The Two Gentlemen of Verona in 2017), the play written in the mid-1590s launched the company back in 1990 and was performed during its 10th and 25th anniversary seasons.
Bellis is using the 1920s as a general palette for the piece, “with additions”. “I was drawn to this era as a reference for its historical similarities to our own current climate: military unrest, civil strife, a global pandemic – a world in trouble; one that reflects our time,” Bellis says in his director’s notes. “It’s a struggling and unsettled place in deep need of renewal, one in which a journey into the dark woods may provide some answers, and a pathway toward a brighter future together.”
Bard on the Beach is collaborating with SFU School for the Contemporary Arts for the 2022 production, with several fairies being played by senior dance students.
“We will also have talking trees, creepy goblins, a few rewrites, and other surprises to bring to this story – one of young people in search of hearts’ desire; of political figures seeking a path forward; of supernatural powers out of balance, and perhaps, most importantly, a group of actors trying to stage a play under trying circumstances,” Bellis says.
Bard artistic director Christopher Gaze says in a release that A Midsummer Night’s Dream—which is the 2022 fest’s only production on the BMO Mainstage, running all season—captures exactly what the organization wants to share with audiences after a long two years away. “It’s a true celebration of hope and joy that will lift the spirits of everyone who sees it,” Gaze says.
Related Articles
Subtitled Heroic Tales of Scott, Crean & Shackleton, the solo show by Aidan Dooley has won some major awards
Fairlith Harvey drew on her experiences as a funeral attendant in creating the experiential work
Festival co-curated with The Cultch’s Heather Redfern features the workshop premiere of Payette’s musical On Native Land, plus a new choral composition
Innovative show created by Rodney DeCroo, Samantha Pawliuk, and David Bloom melds music, theatre, and poetry inside a giant fish
Adaptation of Strauss’s beloved operetta opens Vancouver Opera’s 65th season with cheeky adapted dialogue and musical delights
Cabaret-style festival co-curated by Corey Payette and Heather Redfern features an electrifying fusion of theatre, music, drag, circus, and more
Vancouver Cantonese Opera production at the Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival honours the late Wah-Kwan Gwan
The 65th-season opener features a witty new script by Mark Crawford and a Sweet Charity-worthy array of colourful retro costumes
Michael Wex’s uproarious show combines 1930s cabaret songs, original comedy sketches, Yiddish adaptations of international hits, and vaudeville classics
Magical stage adaptation of graphic novel features over 20 miniature sets performed, filmed, and projected in real time to a live score
Soprano Caitlin Wood, tenor Caulin Moore among the standouts in a production that shows the power of songs in musicals from Evita to Sunset Boulevard
Touchstone Theatre production is part thriller, part comedy, part revenge play, and part nightmarish fairy tale
At long last, the multidisciplinary piece by playwright Brendan McLeod and the Fugitives has its Vancouver premiere
Bernard Cuffling directs and stars in this Metro Theatre adaptation of a West End classic, complete with a fog-shrouded set and ever-building tension
CTORA Theatre’s production is marked by strong on-stage talent and delightful visuals
First new show in Vancouver since pandemic features a parade of surreal white animals and a giant, magical cube
Just in time for Halloween, chaotic show incorporates some of the actor and comedian’s most iconic moments from films like Ghostbusters and Caddyshack
Bernard Cuffling stars in and directs what the Guardian has called “one of British theatre’s biggest—and scariest—hits”
Luggage real and metaphorical clutters the stage as exes haunt a young woman navigating a new relationship
Aerialist Ethan Lottman melds his sporty and creative sides in the circus company’s new extravaganza
Arts Club Theatre Company production follows married couple Alice and Henry who embark on a naughty hotel retreat to rekindle their lacklustre sex life
Nowadays Theatre production tells the story of a woman whose values are confronted when her son falls in love
Globally beloved production tells the haunting tale of an ageing solicitor who engages a young actor to bring a terrifying story to life
Director Mark Carter loves the story’s over-the-top characters
Kat Sandler’s contemporary reimagining of the infamous Slavic folk tale of Baba Yaga centres the small-town disappearance of a young man