Put down the phone. The Nevada Shakespeare Festival is here to command your attention. The nonprofit theater organization just kicked off a new season, putting a new twist on the poet and playwright, whose works remain timeless — with an adjustment here and there.
“We are an adaptive festival, so we adapt the scripts, we twist the scripts,” according to founder and executive director Matt Morgan. “We try to make them current in their presentation while at the same time, maintaining the integrity of the stories, characters, and relationships that William Shakespeare wrote about.”
The season is already off to a strong start with “Henry V,” presented in a series of free park performances and adapted to just 80 minutes. The story follows a young English king who leads an invasion to seize the French throne.
“Our version moves lightning fast,” Morgan says. “The action is always moving forward. We hit the highlights, we hit the characters, we hit the relationships, but you don't have to sit and listen to poetry for three and a half hours.”
March 28: "Romeo & Juliet" | Craig Ranch Park, North Las Vegas | 1pm
April 3: "Henry V" | Solista Park, Inspirada | 6pm
April 11: "Henry V" | Silver Springs Rec Center, Henderson | 6pm
April 17: "Henry V" | Goodman Plaza, Las Vegas Civic Center | 7pm
April 18: "Henry V" | Peace Park, Sandy Valley | 7pm
April 23-May 2: Cornerstone Park, Henderson | Times vary | $5-40
The season continues with “The Taming of the Shrew,” a larger-scale production inside a temperature-controlled tent at Henderson’s Cornerstone Park, April 23-May 2. Running more than two hours (including intermission) and set in the Italian Renaissance, the production is presented in the context of a play-within-a-play that goes wrong. Don’t be surprised to see set pieces collapse and understudies replace actors in the middle of the show.
These plays are more than 400 years old and people over that entire time have laughed at the same jokes, gasped at the same moments, and have been thrilled by the same character dynamics.
Matt Morgan, Nevada Shakespeare Festival Founder & Executive Director
The Nevada Shakespeare Theater also partners with local libraries and schools, giving generations of all ages a fresh look at Shakespeare via short, stripped-down performances.
“I'd like to think that Shakepeare had a punk rock sense about himself,” Morgan says. “He was pushing, he was provocative. He was daring, he was making bold choices. He was making political statements.”
- City Cast Las Vegas has further evidence that independent theater can thrive in a city of spectacle. [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]
