Categories: Literature & Arts; Travel & Events

A Shakespearean Summer

By leigh
updated 2 months ago

"Words, words, words," might Shakespeare's Hamlet say, but the experience of a well-done Shakespeare play becomes far more than simply the lines repeated. Sights, sounds, even the very atmosphere of the crowd all contribute to setting the stage for plays by arguably the best playwright to ever have existed. We can't all afford a visit to London's Globe Theatre, so here's where to go in the United States to see the very best.

Oregon Shakespeare Festival

Ashland, OR

Season: mid-February – early November, 2008

Plays: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Coriolanus, Othello, The Comedy of Errors

One of the best Shakespeare festivals in the nation, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival actually runs for most of the year. The best time to go, however, is during the summer when performances of Othello and The Comedy of Errors take place at the outdoor Elizabethan Stage.

Folger Shakespeare Library

201 E Capitol St, Se, Washington, DC 20003

There are regular performances of Shakespeare’s plays at the Folger Theatre, though none are running during the summer of 2008.

Colorado Shakespeare Festival

Boulder, CO

Season: mid-June – mid-August, 2008

Plays: Macbeth, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Henry the Eighth

Performed on the beautiful campus of the University of Colorado (Boulder), the Colorado Shakespeare Festival attracts hordes of locals and visitors. Try to catch a play outdoors at the Mary RIppon Theatre, where the Rocky Mountains occupy the horizon. This year both Macbeth and Love’s Labour’s Lost are being performed outside, while Henry the Eighth takes place indoors.