After 30 years of outdoor summer theatre, Picton’s Driftwood Theatre Group is bringing its celebrated Bard’s Bus Tour to a close and will be presenting a performance of Living With Shakespeare at the Peterborough Museum and Archives on August 12 and 13.
“The past few years have prompted significant reflection about Driftwood’s history, legacy, and long-term goals,” says Jeremy Smith, artistic director of Driftwood Theatre, in a media release. “We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished and grateful to our partners, supporters, and audience members across the province who have supported The Bard’s Bus Tour since 1995.”
To close out its final season, Driftwood Theatre is presenting Living With Shakespeare, a love letter to the poetry and plays of William Shakespeare created by Smith and Steven Gallagher and performed by Smith, who is returning to the stage for the first time in over a decade.
“It has been a privilege to work alongside one of the greatest playwrights in the history of English theatre for almost 30 years but all things come to an end,” Smith says. “I’m so thankful and thrilled to be able to personally share this final tour with our audiences across Ontario.”
Weaving scenes, passages, and music from Shakespeare’s greatest plays with personal stories from Smith’s lifelong relationship to the Bard, Living With Shakespeare is an exploration of the continuing fascination with the world’s most recognizable playwright more than 400 years after his death.
“Shakespeare has taken over my life,” Smith says. “He’s the Oscar to my Felix, the Ernie to my Bert, the R2 to my 3P0. He’s my constant and not always welcome companion.”
Smith will perform Living With Shakespeare, with musical accompaniment by Tom Lillington, at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 12th and Sunday, August 13th outside at the Peterborough Museum and Archives on the top of Armour Hill at 300 Hunter Street East. The performance runs around 90 minutes with no intermission.
Tickets are pay what you can ($15, $35, $50, or $75). Every ticket purchased at the $75 level will include a pair of free tickets that Driftwood Theatre will distribute to organizations representing underserved members of communities across Ontario.
Living With Shakespeare is also being performed during August in Kingston, Prince Edward County, Quinte West, Oshawa, Pickering, Ingersoll, Toronto, and Burlington. For more information and tickets, visit www.driftwoodtheatre.com.
