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Don’t expect a prim-and-proper ode to the Bard of Avon at the free Shakespeare Festival at Skyline Park, 16th and Arapahoe streets, starting tonight at 6 p.m. Soliloquies may get a little lively, and actors may get feisty with off-stage prompters. After all, the players involved haven’t rehearsed the plays together — ever.
It’s all about taking the work back to its roots, says Kate Kissingford of No Holds Bard, the Colorado traveling theater company behind the festival. “Shakespearean actors didn’t rehearse,” she explains, because they didn’t have time. “They were performing ten different shows in a two-week period. They were the multiplexes of their day, having to compete with other forms of entertainment like bear-baiting and prostitutes.”
Don’t forget to bring a picnic and wine, since the shows will be out in the open, just as they were at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. “Hopefully, that will work in competition with nearby traffic and whatnot,” says Kissingford. At least they won’t have to worry about bear-baiters and prostitutes.
No Holds Bard will perform Much Ado About Nothing tonight and on July 19; the troupe will perform Hamlet on July 17 and 21. For more information, call 303-949-2642 or go to www.noholdsbard.com.
Wed., July 11; Sun., July 15; Tue., July 17
