Amaka Umeh as THE QUEEN OF HEARTS in ALICE IN WONDERLAND Photo by Dahlia Katz
Shakespeare By The Sea, Atlantic Canada’s long-running outdoor theatre, is ringing in National Shakespeare Day by announcing its 31st Season.
Managing Artistic Director Jesse MacLean is overjoyed to be welcoming audiences back to Point Pleasant Park in Halifax from July 6th-September 1st, 2024. The season includes the return of the smash-hit musical ALICE IN WONDERLAND, Shakespeare’s comedy TWELFTH NIGHT, and the one-night-only, must-see event: The Unrehearsed MACBETH.
Shakespeare By the Sea is bringing Amaka Umeh back to Halifax to star as Viola in Twelfth Night and the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland. Umeh was last seen here in Hannah Moscovitch’s Six Time Merritt Award winning adaptation of Ann-Marie MacDonald’s Fall On Your Knees, which was at Neptune Theatre last winter.
“Amaka has been on every Shakespeare enthusiast’s radar since their absolutely stunning performance as Hamlet at the Stratford Festival in 2022. It’s so exciting to have Amaka in the park with us this summer. Amaka is one of Canada’s most exciting young actors, there is no doubt about it,” says Drew Douris-O’Hara, Shakespeare By the Sea’s Associate Artistic Director.
Amaka Umeh is joined by a mix of Nova Scotian theatre favourites and exciting new faces, including returning SBTS company members Zach Colangelo, Chris George, Patrick Jeffrey, Raeesa Lalani, and SBTS’ resident artist Jade Douris-O’Hara. Rounding out the ensemble is Matt Lacas (Festival Antigonish, Theatre Baddeck) and Daniel Nwobi making his NS theatre debut.
Mainstage: ALICE IN WONDERLAND:
A Collective Creation by SBTSHalifax. Directed by: Jesse MacLean. Music & Lyrics by: Jeremy Hutton. Musical Director: Shanoa Phillips. Choreographer: Jade Douris-O’Hara.
July 6th- August 31st, 2024
This is an original musical based on the classic tale by Lewis Carroll from the company that brought you last year’s hit PINOCCHIO!
“Chaos and curiosity reign in the return of one of SBTS’ most beloved original creations. Featuring all of Lewis Carroll’s classic characters, this trip down the rabbit hole is a non-stop, hilarious romp, featuring new plot twists and show-stopping original musical numbers.”
Joining Amaka Umeh’s Queen of Hearts is Shakespeare By the Sea’s resident artist Jade Douris-O’Hara (4X Merritt Award nominee), following up her critically acclaimed performance as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet last summer in the park.
“I am so excited to reimagine the show that earned me my first Merritt Nomination for Choreography. The family musical at SBTS is like bottled joy: It’s the most fun you can have onstage. One of the greatest gifts of working on these shows is getting to meet our amazing audiences, especially the smallest ones who are seeing their first ever play,” she says.
Mainstage: TWELFTH NIGHT
By William Shakespeare. Adapted and Directed by Drew Douris-O’Hara. With Original Music by Shanoa Phillips and Eliza Rhinelander.
July 19th-August 30th, 2024
Shakespeare’s “most complete comedy” returns to Point Pleasant Park this summer in a high energy production full of laughs, sighs, and music. Inspired by Vaudeville Theatres of the early 20th Century, eight actors take on some of Shakespeare’s most iconic characters in this fast-paced, hilarious version of Twelfth Night.
“Halifax audiences are in for a treat, as Twelfth Night is led by Amaka Umeh in their largest Shakespearean lead since playing Hamlet in the Stratford Festival’s acclaimed production in 2022. Umeh is joined onstage by Zach Colangelo, returning to SBTS for her second season, as the witty, musical and mercurial clown Feste. Zach Colangelo delighted crowds last summer as the Fox in Pinocchio and Nurse/Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet.”
“We’ve spent the last two summers exploring the depth of human tragedy with Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. It’s so exciting to get back to Shakespeare’s silly side. Twelfth Night is, to my mind, Shakespeare’s most complete comedy. It practically reads like a greatest hits of Shakespearean Comedy: twins, love triangles, a shipwreck, a clown, lost letters, and lots and lots of music!” says Drew Douris-O’Hara.
Special event: THE UNREHEARSED MACBETH
By William Shakespeare.
ONE NIGHT ONLY: September 1st, 2024
Following the wacky and thrilling success of last summer’s UNREHEARSED DREAM, Shakespeare by the Sea closes its summer season with: THE UNREHEARSED MACBETH.
For this one-night-only performance the resident company of actors learn only their own lines, design their own costumes, and embrace the chaos of live performance where anything can (and will!) happen!
“This is new territory for us: An Unrehearsed Tragedy! Our Unrehearsed Dream events have been some of the most outrageous theatre events I’ve ever seen, and so we are just so excited (and a little scared) to see what happens when the stakes of the play are literally life and death. This is the kind of show that you’ll have to see to believe.” says Managing Director Jesse MacLean.
EARLY TICKETS To the Unrehearsed MACBETH are available by buying an SBTS SWEET SEASON PASS. For more ticket information and more information about this summer season please visit this website.
