Lois Anderson (Rosalind) & Orlando (Todd Thomson) in AS YOU LIKE IT at Bard on the Beach 2011. Photo by David Cooper
Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival celebrates the opening of its 22nd season with the light-hearted romantic comedy AS YOU LIKE IT, directed by David Mackay. The play is staged Tuesdays through Sundays, June 2 to September 24, in the new 742-seat custom-built Mainstage Theatre tent in Vanier Park. David Mackay returns to direct after his Festival staging of The Comedy of Errors in 2009.
In this merriest of comedies, Shakespeare draws on his signature themes of disguise, misplaced affections and pastoral passion. The setting is ripe for romance when Rosalind, daughter of the banished Duke, runs away in disguise with her cousin Celia to the Forest of Arden. There they meet a pair of feuding brothers and Rosalind, who is masquerading as a young man, finds herself uniquely poised to teach her unknowing suitor Orlando the way to win a woman’s heart.
Performance details for As You Like It are as follows:
· OPENS: June 9. PREVIEWS: June 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8.
· Runs Tuesdays through Sundays from June 2 to September 24 – Mainstage Theatre tent in Vanier Park.
· Plays in repertory with The Merchant of Venice which begins June 15 in previews.
· Bard Explored: Lecture & Discussion Series – June 25, July 16 & 23, August 6, 13 & 27, September 3 & 17
· Bard-B-Q & Fireworks evenings: July 30, August 3 & 6
· Celebrating Red & White – wine tasting event following the 3pm matinee and before the 8pm show on August 20. SOLD OUT
Play ticket prices include reserved seating, HST and are $40 (evenings) and $21 to $33 (previews & matinees) with a new $30 Youth Rate (25 years and under) for evening performances only. Order on-site, by phone at 604-739-0559 or on-line at www.bardonthebeach.org
