Shakespeare by the Sea, Halifax

Shakespeare by the Sea
	The Shakespeare by the Sea drama group performing The Comedy of Errors in Halifax, Nova Scotia, August 1996.
Formation	1994
Type	Theatre group
Purpose	Outdoor theatre
Location	Point Pleasant Park, Halifax, Nova Scotia;
Artistic director(s)	Jesse MacLean; Elizabeth Murphy;
Website	www.shakespearebythesea.ca

Shakespeare by the Sea is a professional theatre company and registered society in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

History[]

Founded in 1994, Shakespeare by the Sea specialises in performing the works of William Shakespeare. Plays are performed outdoors in an amphitheatre formed by the ruins of the Cambridge Battery, an old military battery in Point Pleasant Park, and occasionally at other locations.^[1] The company is partially funded by government grants and private enterprise, with the main source of revenue coming from patrons' donations, which makes up about 70% of their revenues.^{[citation needed]}

The company was formed by the late Patrick Christopher-Carter (1945–2005), his lifelong partner Elizabeth Murphy, and Jean Morpurgo. It has played every year in the park, performing three to four productions every summer.^[1]

In 1999, a "family" show was added to the repertoire using a theme from a classical fairy tale or legend. The tale is script is collectively created by the director and the cast, and usually includes a musical element created by a composer. From 1999 to 2004, the family show was known for its lack of traditional props, with only colourful Styrofoam pool noodles being used to create all props and set pieces.^{[citation needed]}

In the summer of 2005, the company went away from the Pool Noodle concept and transformed the family show into a musical, directed by Jesse MacLean, with music written by actor Jeremy Hutton and lyrics by Hutton, MacLean, William Foley, Kevin MacPherson, and Kate Smith titled The Adventures of Robin Hood.^{[citation needed]} The show, with new music and lyrics by Hutton and Kieren MacMillan, then received two workshop productions at the Toronto Youth Theatre in 2007 and 2008, both directed by Hutton.^{[citation needed]} Shakespeare By The Sea brought the show back to Point Pleasant Park for production in the summer of 2011, garnering significant popular and critical success.^[2] In January, 2013, Toronto's Hart House Theatre presented a three-week run of the newest incarnation of the show, now entitled "Robin Hood: The Legendary Musical Comedy". This production played to many sold-out houses, and was a darling of both audiences and critics.^[3]^[4]^[5]

In 2005, the Canada Day performance was The Midnight Twelfth Night, which began at midnight and concluded with the marriage of founders Patrick Christopher-Carter and Elizabeth Murphy.^{[citation needed]} Following the sudden passing of Christopher-Carter later that year, in 2006 Elizabeth Murphy and Jennie Raymond formed a co-artistic directorship to steer the company through a transitional year.^{[citation needed]} In 2007, Elizabeth Murphy took over as Artistic Director.^{[citation needed]}

In some years a one-off peripatetic performance is staged, using various local, historic sites and batteries as dramatic settings for the play. To date, the company has performed Hamlet at the Prince of Wales Martello Tower twice, Richard III at the Sir Sandford Fleming Tower and at the Halifax Citadel, Henry V at the Halifax Citadel, King Lear at the Halifax Citadel, Julius Caesar in the historic courthouse on Spring Garden Road and Measure for Measure at the Prince of Wales Martello Tower.^{[citation needed]}

Murphy has led the drive to develop the rehearsal and office space that the company uses into The Park Place Theatre, an 82-seat black box venue, to be used in the event of poor weather during the summer. The theatre has allowed the company to expand its operations into the spring and fall with small scale productions happening on an annual basis. The venue has also become a valued rehearsal and performance space for other small theatre companies based in Nova Scotia from September to May each year.^{[citation needed]}

In 2012, longtime Artistic Associate Jesse MacLean joined Elizabeth Murphy as a Co-Artistic Director.^{[citation needed]} Since 2003, MacLean has directed over two dozen productions for the company.^{[citation needed]}

2013 marked the 20th season of professional theatre presentation by Shakespeare By The Sea.^[6] The company played to 13,000 over 68 performances in Point Pleasant Park, making it one of the most successful seasons in recent years.^[7]

Productions[]

Information about past productions is from the Shakespeare by the Sea website's section for "Past Performances".^[8]

1994–1999[]

Year	Productions
1994	Twelfth Night
1995	A Midsummer Night's Dream
1996	A Midsummer Nights Dream The Comedy of Errors The Martello Tower Hamlet
1997	Romeo and Juliet As You Like It The Martello Tower Macbeth
1998	The Little Prince Richard III Much Ado About Nothing Henry V
1999	Taming of the Shrew King Lear Titus Andronicus Waiting for Godot Jacob Two Two

2000–2009[]

Year	Productions
2000	Romeo and Juliet (in the U.K) A Midsummer Night's Dream Julius Caesar Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Fables- The Lost Forest
2001	Twelfth Night
2002	A Midsummer Night's Dream The Tempest As You Like It Alice in the HRM
2003	Coriolanus The Merry Wives of Windsor Hamlet Peter Pan in the HRM
2004	Romeo and Juliet The Two Gentlemen of Verona Richard III Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2005	The Merchant of Venice Pericles Prince of Tyre Twelfth Night Robin Hood
2006	Much Ado About Nothing The Wizard of "Uh" Oz
2007	Taming of the Shrew All's Well That Ends Well Pinocchio
2008	A Midsummer Night's Dream Othello Cinderelly
2009	Love's Labour's Lost Macbeth Jack and the Beanstalk-Market

2010–[]

Year	Productions
2010	Twelfth Night Julius Caesar Treasure Island^[a]
2011	The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) The Comedy of Errors Measure for Measure Robin Hood Dracula
2012	The Merry Wives of Windsor Titus Andronicus Alice in Wonderland Nevermore: The Hallowe'en Visions of Edgar Allan Poe
2013	Hamlet Much Ado About Nothing Snow White Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
2014	The Taming of The Shrew The Merchant of Venice Cinderelly: The Wild West Musical Tom Smith's Stupid Christmas (For Jerks)
2015	A Midsummer Night's Dream Antony & Cleopatra Sleeping Beauty: The 1980's Time Travel Pop Musical I Am My Own Wife Tom Smith's Stupid Christmas (For Jerks)
2016	As You Like It King Lear Pinocchio

Notes and references[]

Notes[]

^ In support the 100 year celebration of the Royal Canadian Navy.

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Shakespeare by the Sea n.d.a.
^ Barnard & Nemetz 2011.
^ Sumi 2013.
^ Bégin 2013.
^ Anderson 2013.
^ Barnard 2013a.
^ Barnard 2013b.
^ Shakespeare by the Sea n.d.b.

Sources[]

Anderson, Mike (January 13, 2013). "Review: Robin Hood: The Legendary Musical Comedy (Hart House)". Mooney on Theatre.
Barnard, Elissa; Nemetz, Andrea (December 28, 2011). "Best 11 plays of 2011". The Chronicle Herald.
Barnard, Elissa (May 1, 2013a). "Hamlet highlights Shakespeare by the Sea". The Chronicle Herald.
Barnard, Elissa (June 28, 2013b). "Your guide to summer theatre in Nova Scotia". The Chronicle Herald.
Bégin, Victoria (January 13, 2013). "Robin Hood: The Legendary Musical Comedy". Theatromania.
Sumi, Glenn (January 21, 2013). "Robin Hood: The Legendary Musical Comedy". NOW.
"History". Shakespeare by the Sea. n.d. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
"Past Shows". Shakespeare by the Sea. n.d. Retrieved September 6, 2015.

External links[]

Official website

[9] In support the 100 year celebration of the Royal Canadian Navy.

[FOOTNOTEShakespeare_by_the_Sean.d.a-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b Shakespeare by the Sea n.d.a.

[FOOTNOTEBarnardNemetz2011-2] Barnard & Nemetz 2011.

[FOOTNOTESumi2013-3] Sumi 2013.

[FOOTNOTEBégin2013-4] Bégin 2013.

[FOOTNOTEAnderson2013-5] Anderson 2013.

[FOOTNOTEBarnard2013a-6] Barnard 2013a.

[FOOTNOTEBarnard2013b-7] Barnard 2013b.

[FOOTNOTEShakespeare_by_the_Sean.d.b-8] Shakespeare by the Sea n.d.b.

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