Shakespeare Festival costume exhibit to open April 1
The Lewes Public Library’s annual Shakespeare Festival will return in April for a month-long celebration of the Bard and Shakespearean artistry, with a fresh new theme: Remixing the Bard: Modern Takes on Classic Works.
A unique series of free events includes readings, films, lectures, poetry and a world-premiere performance. All are designed to encourage participants to take a new look at the Bard in exciting and surprising ways, such as discussions of innovative staging, expanding on lesser-known characters, integrating the Black experience, speculating on Shakespeare’s true identity, and more.
“Alternative visions and world-premiere performances are the order of the day for the Lewes Public Library’s annual Shakespeare Festival this year,” said David White, volunteer artistic director, Lewes Public Library Spoken Word Society. “The true power of Shakespeare lies in his use of language, and remaining true to these texts while presenting his work in fresh, new ways can bring out the very best in the creative and performing artist. Our programming this year explores a variety of approaches to Shakespearean texts by artists from several different disciplines and traditions.”
For more information and a full listing of events, and to register, go to tinyurl.com/ShakeItUp2023.
One of the highlights will be the world-premiere performance of “Falstaff the Friend, Falstaff the Fool,” by the Fultontown Theatre Company of Salisbury University at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 15. In this original adaptation, the character of Falstaff, who appears in several of Shakespeare’s works, takes center stage for the first time. Before the performance, Dr. James Keegan, a University of Delaware professor and veteran actor with the American Shakespeare Center, will present a lecture at 5 p.m., Thursday, April 13, on “Playing Falstaff,” based on his experience with the intrepid character.
An incredible evening of readings is also in store at 5 p.m., Tuesday, April 18, with Delaware Shakespeare’s presentation of “Lucy Negro, Redux,” by poet Caroline Randall Williams, coupled with the corresponding Shakespearean sonnets dedicated to Black women, featuring Mariah Ghant from Delaware Shakespeare. The Nashville Ballet’s commissioned performance from Randall Williams and composer Rhiannon Giddens, “Black Lucy and the Bard,” will be screened at 5 p.m., Monday, April 17. Both events will include a discussion moderated by Dr. Adenike Marie Davidson and Dr. Lynnette Young Overby.
Additional highlights include a lecture about an inventive staging of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Matt Saltzberg of the University of Salisbury at 5 p.m., Wednesday, April 12; an analysis of artistic depictions of Ophelia by Kristen Matulewicz of the Biggs Museum of American Art at 5 p.m., Thursday, April 20; a presentation of all-new works by the library’s teen writers’ group at 7 p.m., Friday, April 21; and a provocative conversation, “Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies,” with author Elizabeth Winkler at 5 p.m., Thursday, April 27.
The festival is presented by the Lewes Public Library Spoken Word Society and Shakespeare Festival, and partially funded by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The festival also is supported in part by Browseabout Books.
The Shakespeare Festival, a program of the Lewes library since 2015, seeks to provide the community with experiences that foster understanding of Shakespeare and the world in which he lived and wrote. In addition, the festival promotes development of new works celebrating the spoken word and hosting performances of classical texts.
