Bard on the Beach

Presented in a magnificent setting on the waterfront in Vancouver’s Vanier Park, the Festival offers Shakespeare plays, related dramas, and several special events in two performance tents from June through September.

The plays for 2022 are:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream
June 8 – September 24 · BMO Mainstage
Shakespeare’s comic masterpiece follows four young lovers and a troupe of stumbling actors through an enchanted wood, on a journey of discovery to find out who they are, whom they love, and why it matters. Beginning in a world that is in disrepair, the story moves to the forest, where the natural and supernatural have merged and elves, goblins, and talking trees guide the way. Bring your family and friends and enter into a world of love, laughter and magic!
“I adore this play – it’s full of joy, magic and love. This is my tenth (Dream) production and I can’t wait to see it onstage again!” – Christopher Gaze, Bard Artistic Director
Directed by Scott Bellis (The Two Gentlemen of Verona, 2017; Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2014).
Production run time: 2hrs 40mins, including intermission

Harlem Duet
June 15 – July 17 · Howard Family Stage
Djanet Sears‘ Governor-General’s Award-winning drama explores the complicated relationship of a Black couple in three key periods in the American Black experience: 1860, before the US Emancipation Proclamation; 1928, during New York’s Harlem Renaissance; and in post-civil rights 1997. Each setting reframes the story of the woman, her deep love for her partner, and her sacrifices – and resilience – in the face of his betrayal. With connections to Shakespeare’s Othello, Harlem Duet explores important contemporary questions about race, privilege and relationships.
“…an era-spanning epic that comments on what it is to be black then and now in North America.” – The Globe and Mail (2018)
Directed by Cherissa Richards (Stratford and Shaw Festivals)
Production run time: 2hrs 40 min, including intermission (Act 1 – 1hr 20 min | Act 2 – 58 min)

Romeo and Juliet
August 3 – September 24 · Howard Family Stage
Shakespeare spins a tragic and timeless story of two young people who fall deeply in love, in spite of a bitter feud that divides their families. Their passion – and Juliet’s courage – never fail to move and inspire us. And today more than ever, the play’s “two households alike in dignity” are a powerful reminder that with love, even the world’s greatest wounds can be healed. This production, in a classical setting, casts new light on Juliet’s experience.
“My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.” – Juliet
Directed by Anita Rochon (Cymbeline, 2014)
More info