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A Shakespeare festival is a theatre organization that stages the works of William Shakespeare continually.

Origins

In 1830, the Mulberry Club (a scholarly group formed in Stratford-upon-Avon, named after the destroyed New Place mulberry tree) began organising annual festivities on Shakespeare's birthday, which they referred to as the "Shakespeare Festival". These continued until at least 1836.^[1] From 1886 to 1919, Frank Benson directed 28 spring and six summer "Shakespeare festivals" at the original Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford.^[2]

In 1935 the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, or OSF, was founded in Ashland, Oregon, USA. Originally named the "Oregon Shakespearean Festival"; the name was changed in 1988. Angus L. Bowmer, founder of OSF, wrote in 1954 that Shakespeare Festivals have in common the following attributes: 1) established firmly in one place; 2) repertoire (staging a variety of Shakespeare plays) and 3) a physical stage similar to that used in Shakespeare's lifetime.^[3] According to Bowmer, the inspiration for Elizabethan staging of contemporary Shakespeare productions came from William Poel, an English director who organized the Elizabethan Stage Society in London in the early 20th century. His concepts of Elizabethan staging were brought to North America by Ben Iden Payne.

Other early Shakespeare festivals in North America staged on replicas of the Globe Theatre include the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego (1937)^[4] and the Hofstra Shakespeare Festival,^[5] launched at Hofstra University in 1950. The American Shakespeare Theatre operated on a festival stage in Stratford, Connecticut, United States from 1955 to the 1980s.

Arthur Lithgow, father of actor John Lithgow, founded the "Antioch Shakespeare Festival" (also known as Shakespeare Under the Stars") at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio in 1952. In its five years of existence, the Festival performed the entire Shakespeare canon.^[6]^[7] In 1953, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival was founded in the Canadian city of Stratford, Ontario, with Tyrone Guthrie as the festival's first Artistic Director. The New York Shakespeare Festival in New York City (now known as The Public Theater) has produced Free Shakespeare shows since 1955.^[8]

Festivals

Canada

Bard on the Beach — Vancouver, British Columbia
Freewill Shakespeare Festival — Edmonton, Alberta
Repercussion Theatre — Montreal, Quebec
Shakespeare by the Sea — Halifax, Nova Scotia
Shakespeare by the Sea — St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Shakespeare in the Ruff — Toronto, Ontario
Shakespeare in the Ruins — Winnipeg, Manitoba
Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan — Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Stratford Shakespeare Festival — Stratford, Ontario

Europe

Bremer Shakespeare Company — Bremen, Germany
Craiova International Shakespeare Festival — Craiova, Romania
Dublin Shakespeare Society — Dublin, Ireland
Gdańsk Shakespeare Festival — Gdańsk, Poland
Prague Shakespeare Festival — Prague, Czech Republic

United Kingdom

Bard in the Botanics — Glasgow, Scotland
Cheek by Jowl — London, England
Creation Theatre Company — Oxford, England
Dolphin's Back — London, England
Druid Shakespeare — Galway, Ireland
Edward's Boys — Stratford-upon-Avon, England
National Theatre — London, England
Original Shakespeare Company — London, England
Oxford Shakespeare Festival — Oxford, England
Rose Playhouse Bankside — London, England
Rose Theatre Kingston — Kingston upon Thames, England
Royal Exchange — Manchester, England
Royal Shakespeare Company — London, England
shakespeare.scot — Dundee, Scotland
Shakespeare's Globe — Stratford-upon-Avon, England
Sirrah Sisters — London, England
Smooth Faced Gentlemen — London, England
York Shakespeare Project — York, England

United States

Actors' Shakespeare Project — Boston, Massachusetts
African-American Shakespeare Company — San Francisco, California
Alabama Shakespeare Festival — Montgomery, Alabama
American Players Theatre — Spring Green, Wisconsin
American Shakespeare Center — Staunton, Virginia
Annapolis Shakespeare Company — Annapolis, Maryland
Antioch Shakespeare Festival — Yellow Springs, Ohio
Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre — Conway, Arkansas
Atlanta Shakespeare Company — Atlanta, Georgia
Austin Shakespeare — Austin, Texas
Bag & Baggage Productions — Hillsboro, Oregon
Baltimore Shakespeare Factory — Baltimore, Maryland
Band of Brothers Shakespeare Company — Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Barefoot Shakespeare Company — New York City, New York
Bath Shakespeare Festival — Bath, Maine
Bay Colony Shakespeare Company — Marshfield, Massachusetts
Brave Spirits Theatre — McLean, Virginia
California Shakespeare Theater — Orinda, California
Camden Shakespeare Festival — Camden, Maine
Chesapeake Shakespeare Company — Baltimore, Maryland
Chicago Shakespeare Theater — Chicago, Illinois
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company — Cincinnati, Ohio
Classical Actors Ensemble — Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota
Colonial Theater Shakespeare Festival — Westerly, Rhode Island
Colorado Shakespeare Festival — Boulder, Colorado
Connecticut Free Shakespeare — Norwalk, Connecticut
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company — Boston, Massachusetts
Coos Bay Shakespeare in the Park — Coos Bay, Oregon
Cromulent Shakespeare Company — Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota
Delaware Shakespeare — Wilmington, Delaware
Door Shakespeare — Sister Bay, Wisconsin
Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre — Fairbanks, Alaska
Fern Shakespeare Company — Atlanta, Georgia
First Folio Shakespeare Festival — Oak Brook, Illinois
Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival — Flagstaff, Arizona
Flatwater Shakespeare Company — Lincoln, Nebraska
Flint Hills Shakespeare Festival — St. Marys, Kansas
Florida Shakespeare Theatre — Miami, Florida
Folger Shakespeare Theatre — Washington, D.C.
Foothills Theatre Company — Littleton, Colorado
Garfield Shakespeare Company — Indianapolis, Indiana
Georgia Shakespeare Festival — Atlanta, Georgia
Grand Valley Shakespeare Festival — Allendale, Michigan
Great River Shakespeare Festival — Winona, Minnesota
GreenStage — Seattle, Washington
Hampshire Shakespeare Company — Amherst, Massachusetts
Hamptons Shakespeare Festival — Long Island, New York
Harlem Shakespeare Festival — Harlem, New York
Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival — Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Hawai'i Shakespeare Festival — Honolulu, Hawai'i
Heart of America Shakespeare Festival — Kansas City, Missouri
Hip to Hip Theatre Company — New York City, New York
Hofstra Shakespeare Festival — Hempstead, New York
Hoosier Shakespeare Festival — Marion, Indiana
Houston Shakespeare Festival — Houston, Texas
Hudson Shakespeare Company — Stratford, Connecticut
Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival — Garrison, New York
Hudson Warehouse — New York City, New York
Idaho Shakespeare Festival — Boise, Idaho
Illinois Shakespeare Festival — Bloomington, Illinois
Iowa Shakespeare Experience — Des Moines, Iowa
Kentucky Shakespeare Festival — Louisville, Kentucky
Lantern Theatre Company — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival — Lake Tahoe, California
Lakeside Shakespeare — Benzie County, Michigan
Lord Denney's Players — Columbus, Ohio
Madison Shakespeare Company — Waunakee, Wisconsin
Marin Shakespeare Company — San Rafael, California
Michigan Shakespeare Festival — Jackson, Michigan
Missouri Shakespeare Festival — Joplin, Missouri
Montana Shakespeare in the Parks — Bozeman, Montana
Montford Park Players — Asheville, North Carolina
Muse of Fire Theatre Company — Evanston, Illinois
Nashville Shakespeare Festival — Jackson, Michigan
Nebraska Shakespeare Festival — Omaha, Nebraska
New Orleans Shakespeare Festival — New Orleans, Louisiana
New Swan Shakespeare Festival — Irvine, California
New York Shakespeare Festival — New York City, New York
North Carolina Shakespeare Festival — Winston-Salem, North Carolina
North Dakota Shakespeare Festival — Grand Forks, North Dakota
Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival — South Bend, Indiana
Ohio Shakespeare Theatre — Akron, Ohio
Old Globe Theatre — San Diego, California
Oregon Shakespeare Festival — Ashland, Oregon
Original Practice Shakespeare Festival — Portland, Oregon
Orlando Shakes — Orlando, California
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival — Center Valley, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company — Grand Haven, Michigan
Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Park — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Portland Actors Ensemble — Portland, Oregon
Red Bull Theatre — New York City, New York
Resurgens Theatre Company — Atlanta, Georgia
Richmond Shakespeare Festival — Richmond, Virginia
Riverside Shakespeare Company — New York City, New York
Robinson Shakespeare Company — South Bend, Indiana
Rochester Community Players — Rochester, New York
Rome Shakespeare Festival — Rome, Georgia
San Francisco Shakespeare Festival — San Francisco, California
Saint Louis Shakespeare Festival — St. Louis, Missouri
Santa Clarita Shakespeare — Santa Clarita, California
Santa Cruz Shakespeare — Santa Cruz, California
Seattle Shakespeare Festival — Seattle, Washington
Seven Stages Shakespeare Company — Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Shakespeare & Company (Minnesota) — White Bear Lake, Minnesota
Shakespeare & Company (Massachusetts) — Lenox, Massachusetts
Shakespeare by the Sea — San Pedro, California
Shakespeare Carolina — Rock Hill, South Carolina
Shakespeare Festival of Dallas — Dallas, Texas
Shakespeare in Delaware Park — Buffalo, New York
Shakespeare in Detroit — Detroit, Michigan
Shakespeare in Yosemite — Merced, California
Shakespeare Now! Theatre Company — Brookline, Massachusetts
Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey — Madison, New Jersey
Shakespeare Theatre Company — Washington, D.C.
Silicon Valley Shakespeare — Washington, D.C.
South Carolina Shakespeare Company — Columbia, South Carolina
South Dakota Shakespeare Festival — Vermillion, South Dakota
Southern Shakespeare Festival — Tallahassee, Florida
Southwest Shakespeare Company — Mesa, Arizona
Sweet Tea Shakespeare — Fayetteville, North Carolina
Syracuse Shakespeare in the Park — Syracuse, New York
Taffety Punk Theatre Company — Washington, D.C.
Tennessee Shakespeare Company — Fayetteville, North Carolina
Texas Shakespeare Festival — Kilgore, Texas
Theatre at Monmouth — Monmouth, Maine
Theatre for a New Audience — New York City, New York
Troupe of Friends — Westfield, New Jersey
Upstate Shakespeare Festival — Greenville, South Carolina
Utah Shakespeare Festival — Cedar City, Utah
Vermont Shakespeare Festival — Greensboro, Vermont
Virginia Shakespeare Festival — Williamsburg, Virginia
Washington Shakespeare Festival — Mount Vernon, Washington
West Virginia Shakespeare Festival — Huntington, West Virginia
What You Will Shakespeare Company — Urbana, Illinois
Wichita Shakespeare Company — Wichita, Kansas
Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum — Topanga, California
Wyoming Shakespeare Festival Company — Lander, Wyoming
Young Shakespeare Players — Madison, Wisconsin

Staged reading series

Alabama Shakespeare Project — Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Appalachian Shakespeare Project — Athens, West Virginia
Back Room Shakespeare Project — Chicago, Illinois
Black Shakespeare Project — Brooklyn, New York
Manhattan Shakespeare Project — Manhattan, New York
Play On! Shakespeare Project — Portland, Oregon
Portland Shakespeare Project — Portland, Oregon
Shakespeare Project of Chicago — Chicago, Illinois
The Shakespeare Project — New York City, New York

Fictional

New Burbage Shakespeare Festival — New Burbage, Canada (Slings & Arrows)

References

^ "UoB Calmview5: Search results". calmview.bham.ac.uk. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
^ "Shakespeare For All Time", by Stanley Wells, 2002; pg. 321
^ Oregon Shakespearean Association Fourteenth Season program, 1954, pg 3-4
^ "History". The Old Globe. 1937-12-02. Archived from the original on 2010-09-25. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
^ "The Hofstra Shakespeare Festival - Drama and Dance - Hofstra University". Hofstra.edu. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
^ "Cleveland Centennial: Antioch Shakespeare Festival". Clevelandcentennial.blogspot.com. 2011-02-13. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
^ "Yellow Springs News Online". Ysnews.com. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
^ "Public Theater". Public Theater. Retrieved 2012-02-16.