This season of the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival got extended to include two weekends of performances of ’The Tempest’ at Sue Bierman Park at the foot of Market Street, on the Embarcadero. And CalShakes comes back alive in Orinda this weekend with its production of ‘As You Like It’ — which will be the only show in its abbreviated 2024 season.
You could have a full weekend of Shakespeare this weekend or next in the Bay Area, if that’s your thing, with two new productions happening simultaneously on either side of the Bay.
SF Shakes, which each year puts on Free Shakespeare in the Park, typically does roving performances in parks around the Bay, ending with Labor Day Weekend at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in McLaren Park. But this year, the production of The Tempest moves to downtown, with two more weekends of shows at Sue Bierman Park, adjacent to Embarcadero Plaza (where the playground is).
The production is directed by Rotimi Agbabiaka, and stars Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe as Prospero. And while I haven’t yet seen it, the Chronicle’s Lily Janiak raves “Almost every cast member unveils something new and delicious" in the play, and "Here Shakespeare is not some rarefied arena for the hoity-toity but a ridiculous, relatable park-side jaunt — one where you learn that you can forgive someone even when you’re still mad."
As cast member Kevin Clarke, who plays the faerie assistant Ariel, tells SFist, "It’s an all-ages show! Kids love the drunken clowns and the faerie, teens love [or love to be grossed out by] the love story, and adults love the villains, the songs, and the poetry."
Performances continue Saturday and Sunday, September 14 and 15 at 2 pm, and then on September 21 and 22, also at 2 pm, all in Sue Bierman Park. All performances are free. See more details here.
Meanwhile, over in Orinda, California Shakespeare Theater (aka CalShakes) is lighting up the Bruns Amphitheater for its first production in two years, and its 50th anniversary production, As You Like It. Due to some significant financial strain on the company, this was a production that almost didn’t happen, were it not for a last-minute fundraising drive that was completed last month.
After a couple of preview performances, the play opens on Saturday, September 14, and continues through September 29.
CalShakes, in case you’ve never been, happens at an outdoor amphitheater, with a picnic area outside of it for pre-show dining. You’re free to bring your wine and picnic baskets into the amphitheater, and you have the option of standard seats or platforms in the rear where you can set up your own lawn chair. The backdrop of every production are the rolling hills of Orinda, and the experience is BART-able — a shuttle takes patrons to and from the theater grounds, which are a short distance from Orinda Station.
Photo courtesy of SF Shakes
