Kentucky Shakespeare had awildly successful year—preforming for 27,000 in Central Park, venturing out to other Louisville parks with a 90-minute version of "Hamlet," and more.
In preparation for 2015, Kentucky Shakespeare is now planning for new and innovative ways to bring the work of The Bard to people all across the state.
First on the calendar is a live radio-recording of “Dark Lady of the Sonnets,” a 1910 play by George Bernard Shaw in which William Shakespeare, intending to meet the "Dark Lady," accidentally encounters Queen Elizabeth I and attempts to persuade her to create a national theatre.
The free production will take place at the Kentucky Center on Jan. 6.
Planned for the future is a podcast on WFPL's sister station, WUOL Classical 90.5. While podcasts are trendy right now (“Serial,” anyone?), Wallace said the move was actually inspired by the upcoming 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death in 2016. WUOL program director Daniel Gilliam wanted to partner with the company to do a series—the station would highlight some Shakespearean classical music and Kentucky Shakespeare would add podcasts of performances.
“And I love the idea of making this a free event, something that we could partner with these two organizations and make it like an old radio show,” Wallace said. “We’ll have a foley artist and some pre-show music from Concentus Quartet, and it’s just going to be a fun night.”
Then Kentucky Shakespeare is also partnering with Baxter Avenue Theatres to bring five films of live stage productions to the Louisville screen in the Shakespeare on Stage Film Series. The series will run from Feb. 25 through May 21, and will include recent stage productions at the Royal Shakespeare Company and Stratford Festival of “King Lear,” “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” “King John,” “Much Ado About Nothing,” and “Antony and Cleopatra.”
“We’re also working on a new tour—a ‘Shakespeare in the Library’ tour,” during which the company’s two-person “Tempest” will visit each of 18 Louisville Free Public Library locations, Wallace said.
More information about Kentucky Shakespeare’s plans for 2015 canbe found here.