Lewes library’s Shakespeare Festival to open April 2

The Lewes Public Library’s annual Shakespeare Festival will return in April for a month-long celebration of the Bard and Shakespearean artistry, with an incredible offering of free events including live performances, original readings, workshops, films, concerts, lectures and more.

Audiences and participants will be treated to a wide range of exciting programming offered by leading professional artists and scholars from across Delaware, New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C.,  Annapolis, Md., and beyond.

“We are really excited by the power and depth of our festival’s programming this year. We’re bringing experts and performers from throughout the talent-rich Northeast and hosting performances including original works from local students and from New York professionals,” said David White, volunteer artistic director, Lewes Public Library Spoken Word Society. “Gorgeous costumes on display, a puppetry workshop and performance, live music based in Renaissance and Elizabethan work, lectures from top scholars, and a fascinating hybrid performance of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ round out an incredible month. Don’t miss it!”

For a full listing of events and registration, go to tinyurl.com/ShakeItUp2022.

The series kicks off at 6 p.m., Saturday, April 2, with a premiere performance of original dramatic and comedic pieces written by and for local students through the library’s The Writer’s Room and The Troupe program for teens.

The festival will culminate in a groundbreaking performance of “Romeo and Juliet” at Cape Henlopen High School presented by Classic Theatre of Maryland Sunday, April 24. In this unique multimedia staging, professional actors Joshua Olumide and Kira Janine Bennett will perform live in the title roles while interacting with actors and scenery filmed in CTM’s studios.

Additional highlights include a puppetry workshop and performance of “Venus and Adonis” April 9 with professional actors David Logan Rankin and Suzanne Savoy, a recital of Elizabethan lute music with Theodore Creek April 13, and an evening of readings and Shakespeare-inspired music with singer-songwriter Emily Schuman and members of Delaware Shakespeare’s professional company April 18.

The month-long celebration also features a costume display, film screenings, and lectures on a variety of Shakespearean topics with experts from the University of Delaware, the Biggs Museum, the Folger Shakespeare Library and Classic Theatre of Maryland.

The festival is presented by the Lewes Public Library Spoken Word Society and Shakespeare Festival, supported in part by a grant from Delaware Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on DelawareScene.com. Sussex County Council, Exelon, and individual donors also provided financial support to the Festival.

The Shakespeare Festival, a program of the Lewes Public Library since 2015, seeks to provide the community with experiences that foster the understanding of Shakespeare and the world in which he lived and wrote. The festival also promotes the development of new works celebrating the spoken word and hosting performances of classical texts.