For the past 3 years we have greatly enjoyed the shows presented by the Independent Shakespeare Company of LA in several different venues about town. Lately they have settled into the Old Zoo in Griffith Park, a lovely venue for an evening of the Bard. Even better, every show is free to all. Bring your own picnic and your own chair and you are set.
The ISC recently started this Summer’s season with a production of The Winter’s Tale, one of Shakespeare’s later plays. We are planning on seeing this show on July 8 and already have our dates picked for the other 2 shows of the summer, A Midsummer NIght’s Dream and The Comedy of Errors. You can find the full schedule of all shows on the ISCLA web site.
THE WINTER’S TALE
Opening June 28
In Sicilia, all is well. But when King Leontes becomes consumed with jealousy, a misunderstanding spirals into tragedy. Indifferent to the word of the Gods, reason, or natural sentiment, he resigns his wife, son, and unborn child to a dreadful fate.
As the years roll on, however, a very different destiny is evolving in the kingdom of Bohemia. Rustic and wild, it is a place where love prevails and music and humor are rampant. When the two worlds intersect, miracles come to pass.
Shakespeare’s great romance challenges our expectations. It folds time and genre into a unique work of art that reveals the essential, humane nature of the author.
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
Opening July 5
In a fantastical Athens surrounded by an enchanted wood, the lines between dreaming and waking are deliciously blurred. As the wedding of Duke Theseus to his captured Amazonian bride approaches, a group of tradesmen rehearse a play to celebrate the nuptials. In the shadows alongside them, the King and Queen of the fairies do battle, lovers succumb to magic and each other, and forest spirits seek to unravel the mysteries of the human heart.
This production of Shakespeare’s most intoxicating comedy is staged with athletic abandon and dazzling costumes.
THE COMEDY OF ERRORS
Opening August 2
The Mediterranean Island of Ephesus at the tail end of WWII is a dangerous place. Locked in a battle with neighboring Syracuse, the town is suspicious of strangers. Into this place, two men come to town seeking to find themselves, but inadvertently cut a path of chaos. During the upheaval, love is lost and found, lives are saved, and a community is restored.
A live band and period dancing complete Shakespeare’s most compact and fast-paced comedy.