Yes, we have a blockbuster season in store, featuring two of the Bard’s greatest hits, staged in two very different locations and styles in the capital city. Prominently featured on our menu this year is love, of both the star-crossed and tragic—and comically chaotic—varieties.

Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s enduringly famous tale of a young couple whose love at first defies, but ultimately falls victim to, the enmity of their warring families, will unfold against the backdrop of cultivated and natural beauty of the Fredericton Botanic Garden, in an immersive promenade-style production directed by Len Falkenstein.

Meanwhile, romantic confusion will abound in Twelfth Night, arguably Shakespeare’s most finely crafted comedy, featuring a bevy of lovers whose romantic wires get hilariously crossed by the combined forces of disguise, miscommunication, and that classic Shakespearean plot device, a pair of twins. Directed by Alex Rioux and performed in a conventional sit-down production in the urban core of downtown Fredericton, Twelfth Night (or What You Will) is set to be a classic Shakespearian romp with a high-fashion twist!

Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night will run from June 21-July 7. Watch for information about auditions (planned for May 5-6) coming soon, with our performance schedule and ticket information on the way later in May. For more information, email Bard in the Barracks Artistic Director Len Falkenstein at lfalken@unb.ca