Macbeth - Cowichan Valley Shakespeare Festival

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Sunday, August 6th, 2017
All shows start at 7:30 pm except Sunday, August 13 matinee at 2:00 pm

The Shawnigan Players proudly present the 2017 Cowichan Valley Shakespeare Festival!

For our sixth year at beautiful Gem o’ the Isle Farm, we have two plays on offer – a remount of 2016’s runaway smash hit A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and, for the first time in Players’ history, that famous tale of ambition and fate, Macbeth.

The tragedy of Macbeth tells the story of a noble warrior and his spirited wife whose desire for power, intensified by a supernatural prophecy, leads to obsession, madness, and chaos.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a light-hearted comedy about the madness and chaos of love, pokes fun at the obsessions of lovers both mortal and supernatural. While the Macbeths’ ambitious misdeeds condemn them to the bleak curse of sleeplessness, the fairies, lovers, and rustics of Midsummer tumble in and out of sleep and so haphazardly that a sense of dreamlike enchantment endures long after all spells are lifted.

Both plays are directed by Alex Gallacher, whose past directorial credits at the Gem include As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, and Pride and Prejudice.

The Shawnigan Players’ summer productions at the farm have quickly become a valley tradition, with delighted audiences returning annually and growing in number every year. The company includes actors ranging in age from ten to eighty-something, and look for several performers to appear in both shows!

Gem o’ the Isle is an enchanting, magical outdoor setting for live theatre, with a minimalist stage tucked among the apple trees against a backdrop of horse pastures and beautiful West Coast rainforest. Tiered seating is available for an amphitheater feel, and audience members are also welcome to bring blankets and sit on the grass. Family members of all ages are encouraged to attend and special family-rate tickets are available.

The Cowichan Valley Shakespeare Festival runs August 2 – 13 at Gem o’ the Isle Farm, 2465 Koksilah Rd.

Macbeth will be performed August 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 11, and 12 at 7:30 pm, with a matinee August 13 at 2:00pm.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be performed August 4, 8, and 10 at 7:30pm, matinee August 6 at 2:00.

Advance single tickets are $20 for a single show or $30 for a two-show festival pass. Advance family tickets (one or two adults plus children, maximum five people) are $40 advance for one show or $60 for a festival pass. Prices at the gate are slightly higher (Singles $25 / Festival $40, Family $60 / Family Festival $80.) Advance tickets are available at Ten Old Books, Mason’s Store, or online  at cowichanshakespeare.eventbrite.ca. You can also reserve tickets by emailing [email protected].