Summer of (FREE) Shakespeare
What can possibly scream “summer” more than free Shakespeare? Not much, if you’re in the Boston area. Throughout July and August, there are many opportunities for you to take advantage of this summertime tradition.
Hamlet
Apollinaire in the Park brings the darker side of Shakespeare to PORT Park, Chelsea, with their production of Hamlet. Prince Hamlet (played by area favorite Brooks Reeves) returns home to an unrecognizable political landscape – his uncle has murdered his father, married his mother, and claimed the throne. Compelled by his father’s ghost, Hamlet determines to avenge his father’s death. Paralyzed by the task ahead, he rages against the impossibility of his predicament. Meanwhile the new King is plotting Hamlet’s death, Hamlet tells Ophelia to go to a nunnery, and Denmark is thrown into turmoil with devastating consequences.
Performances run from now until July 31 at PORT Park, on the Chelsea Waterfront.
Love’s Labour’s Lost
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC), known for their Shakespeare on the Common, enters their 21st season with a production of Love’s Labour’s Lost. One of the rarer comedies, this is the first time in the company’s history that they have produced it. In Love’s Labour’s Lost, friendship and loyalty amongst four young men and four young women are put to the test when romantic youthful notions of love encounter the challenges of adulthood. A high-spirited romantic comedy filled with dazzling wordplay, strong comic characters and a few unexpected twists, Love’s Labour’s Lost both charms and touches the heartstrings of young and old alike.
Performances run from now until August 7 on the Boston Common.
CSC Apprentice Showcase: Measure for Measure and Cymbeline
Did you like Commonwealth Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost? Or was it too hot on the Boston Common? If either was the case, CSC has two other opportunities (some performances in air conditioned spaces) for you to enjoy free Shakespeare this summer. Their Apprentice Company of early-career actors will perform two other rarely produced, tragicomic Shakespeare plays – Measure for Measure and Cymbeline – in both indoor and outdoor venues – throughout the Greater Boston area.
Performances run from now until August 7. Please check the site for dates, times and locations.
Cymbeline
Brown Box Theatre Project, for the sixth year in a row, has been dedicated to bringing a free production of Shakespeare to underserved locations to promote the performing arts in locations that often lack access to live theater. As such, this summer’s production of Cymbeline will tour throughout Massachusetts before heading down to communities and schools in Delmarva (Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia).
Performances in Massachusetts run from August 18 – 28.
