Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival has announced a 2016 season that will showcase the genius and popular appeal of the great English playwright, in a year of world-wide celebrations marking the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. The 27th Bard season, sponsored by Goldcorp and running from June 3 to September 24, 2016, will bring two proven audience favourites to the BMO Mainstage. Opening the Festival is Romeo and Juliet, the timeless story of a pair of young star-crossed lovers whose families are bitterly divided; Bard’s powerful and sensuous new production will be directed by Siminovitch Prize winner and past Bard director Kim Collier (Hamlet, 2013). Alternating with Romeo and Juliet is the Jessie Award-winning production of The Merry Wives of Windsor, back by popular demand after a sold-out 2012 Bard run and re-imagined this season for the larger BMO Mainstage. The music-filled production is set in 1968 Windsor, Ontario and will be directed again by Johnna Wright; its production sponsor is Polygon Homes.
On the Howard Family Stage, veteran Bard actor Bob Frazer (Macbeth, 2012) will direct a provocative new staging of Othello, with its action unfolding during the American Civil War. The production sponsor is Lonetree Cider. Othello will alternate with a new production of Pericles, set in an ancient, mythical pagan kingdom and directed by Lois Anderson, another award-winning veteran of Bard’s acting companies (Kate, The Taming of the Shrew, 2012). Pericles’ production sponsor is BlueShore Financial.
“We go into our 27th season while the world is honouring and celebrating Shakespeare, and this set of plays will showcase his genius,” says Artistic Director Christopher Gaze. “We are fortunate to have engaged such an outstanding team of theatre creators who will bring their visions of these great classics to our Vanier Park stages next season, for what I know will be a memorable year for us.”
Bard’s 2015 Season Highlights
The 2015 Bard on the Beach season ended on September 26, with more than 90,000 patrons attending this year’s plays and special events. The hilarious steampunk version of The Comedy of Errors, helmed by actor/director and Bard Artistic Associate Scott Bellis played on the BMO Mainstage along with Shakespeare’s magnificent tragedy King Lear, a co-production with Theatre Calgary and directed by that company’s Artistic Director, Dennis Garnhum. Sold-out houses were delighted by a Jazz Age musical adaptation of Love’s Labour’s Lost on the Howard Family Stage, directed by Daryl Cloran (Artistic Director, Kamloops’ Western Canada Theatre). That production played in repertory with the world stage premiere of Shakespeare’s Rebel, written by C.C. Humphreys and directed by Christopher Gaze.
Many of Bard’s signature special events returned in 2015, including the popular Bard-B-Q & Fireworks nights sparked with unique on-site entertainment, including a thrilling outdoor performance by the world-renowned Dowco Triumph Street Pipe Band. Bard continued to build on its music programming with a trio of concert events featuring the city’s top musicians. Chor Leoni performed in June (Manely Canadian), followed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in July with two evenings of unique programming; in August, four Opera & Arias concerts were hosted by Christopher Gaze and featured UBC’s Opera Ensemble and members of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra performing popular classics by Gilbert and Sullivan. Eight Bard Explored lectures were presented by Bard Director of Education Mary Hartman, Simon Fraser University’s Dr. Paul Budra and C.C. Humphreys (Shakespeare’s Rebel). New this season were three sold-outWine Wednesdays tasting evenings, with special guests including Harry Hertscheg, Executive Director of the Vancouver International Wine Festival. Also new, three Family Nights introduced parents and children to The Comedy of Errors along with additional family-friendly programming including a children’s theatre talk, craft stations and photo booths.
Bard also deepened its connection with young people in 2015 through innovative education programs and accessible pricing. Over 6,000 patrons aged 6 to 22 took advantage of the $29 GLOBAL BC Youth Price. As well, a $20 student price was offered for student matinees in June and September, and most of the performances were sold out; 6,629 students attended overall, a sharp increase from 2014. The July and August Young Shakespeareans Workshops (ages 8-18) allowed 279 participants – the highest number ever – to gain experience performing Shakespeare, led by current and past Bard acting company members. The Riotous Youth program returned for a second year, giving a gifted group of 19 to 24-year-olds the chance to continue their training in Shakespearean performance. The nine Riotous Youth participants also assisted with the Young Shakespeareans Workshops and delivered the In a Nutshellpre-show talks in the Bard Village.
More than 240 volunteers gave their time to provide administrative and Front of House assistance, contributing over 15,000 hours of service throughout the season. Bard audience members generously contributed almost $15,000 to Performing Arts Lodges (PAL), Theatre Cares and the Actors Fund, and Bard offered hundreds of tickets to various local charities throughout the season. The Festival’s multi-year Staging Our Future capital campaign wrapped up with the installation of comfortable new seats in the Douglas Campbell Theatre, mirroring the modern seating in the Mainstage Theatre Tent. Bard’s administrative and production teams also made the move to the newly built BMO Theatre Centre on West 1st Avenue, where they share space with the Arts Club Theatre Company. The state-of-the-art theatre facility will provide new opportunities to expand Bard’s education and training programs during the off-season, as well as house its extensive costume and props collections.
Updates on Bard on the Beach’s 2016 Festival will be posted regularly at bardonthebeach.org. Tickets go on sale in early April and will be available through the Bard website or by calling Bard’s in-house Box Office at 604-739-0559.
