Driftwood Theatre presents their 25th annual Bard's Bus Tour with A (musical) Midsummer Night’s Dream, an a cappella slant on William Shakespeare’s most popular comedy. Driftwood Theatre brings accessible, live, outdoor theatre across Ontario with contemporary Canadian takes on Shakespeare. A (musical) Midsummer Night’s Dream will run from July 19 - August 18, 2019 with 27 performances in 22 cities and towns in Southern Ontario.

Using Shakespeare’s text A (musical) Midsummer Night’s Dream is a colourful, rocking, rolling, funktastic, jazz-infused musical celebration of theatrical proportions; with everything performed live and entirely A Cappella. Originally created by Driftwood in 2004 and performed again in 2012, A (musical) Midsummer Night’s Dream reunites composers Kevin Fox (The Swingle Singers, Cadence) and Tom Lillington (Nathaniel Dett Chorale, Hampton Avenue) with director Jeremy Smith. 

For their 25^th season, Driftwood will imagine A (Musical) Midsummer Night’s Dream as an outdoor summer theatre experience for the entire family. Four lovers and one group of hapless tradespeople experience a chaos-filled night in the forest as they stumble across the mischievous Puck and the magical denizens of the faery kingdom.

“It’s about community, companionship and love,” said Driftwood Artistic Director Jeremy Smith. “Dream reminds us of the importance of putting down our devices, stepping away from our screens, and making the kind of tangible connections which encourage empathy, understanding and respect.”

Directed by D. Jeremy Smith, the A (musical) Midsummer Night’s Dreamensemble includes Steven Burley (Driftwood founding company member; The 39 Steps, Bruce County Playhouse), Nick Dolan (Once, Theatre St. John’s), Nathaniel Hanula-James (National Theatre School), Kelsi James(Theatre Sheridan), Ahmed Moneka (Abduction from the Seraglio, Canadian Opera Company; Moskitto Bar; Moneka Arabic Jazz; Trafalgar 24, Driftwood), Marissa Orjalo (Sheridan/UTM), Siobhan Richardson (The Penelopiad, Grand Theatre London; Taming of the Shrew, Driftwood) and James Dallas Smith (Ipperwash, Native Earth/Blyth; Trafalgar 24, Driftwood).

A (musical) Midsummer Night’s Dream creative team includes production designer Julia Kim (Judas Noir, Obsidian Theatre; assistant designer, Stratford Festival), dramaturge Myekah Payne (Obsidian Theatre; Rosalynde, Driftwood), and stage manager Kelsey Rae.

A (musical) Midsummer Night’s Dream
by William Shakespeare
adapted by Kevin Fox, Tom Lillington and D. Jeremy Smith
July 19 – August 18, 2019
All performances begin at 7:30pm

All performances are FREE or Pay What You Can admission
(See website for details. Suggested donation $20-$30/person)
Patrons can now also reserve spaces and chairs
for each performance in advance online.

Website: driftwoodtheatre.com

Facebook: facebook.com/DriftwoodTheatre

Twitter: twitter.com/DriftwoodTheatr (that’s right, no ‘e’)

Instagram: instagram.com/driftwoodtheatre

Hashtags: #bardsbustour and #dream

A (musical) Midsummer Night’s Dream
Performance Schedule

Friday, July 19 - PREVIEW - Burlington Performing Arts Centre Plaza 

Saturday, July 20 - OPENING NIGHT - Parkwood Estate – Oshawa

Sunday, July 21 - Esplanade Park – Pickering

Tuesday, July 23 - Celebration Square – Whitby

Wednesday, July 24 - Riverwood Park – Mississauga

Thursday, July 25- Thorn Lodge Park – Mississauga

Friday, July 26 – Saturday, July 27 - Withrow Park - Toronto

Sunday, July 28 - TBD - Toronto

Tuesday, July 30 - Guild Park - Scarborough

Wednesday, July 31 - Dundas Driving Park - Hamilton

Thursday, August 1 - Civic Centre – Kitchener

Friday, August 2 - Kawartha Settlers Village – Bobcaygeon

Saturday, August 3 - Memorial Park – Marmora

Sunday, August 4 - Peterborough Museum - Peterborough

Tuesday, August 6 - Battery Park - Kingston

Wednesday, August 7 - Lennox & Addington Museum - Napanee

Thursday, August 8 - Trent Port Marina - Trenton

Friday, August 9 - Millpond Park - Bloomfield

Saturday, August 10 - Victoria Park - Cobourg

Sunday, August 11- Scugog Shores Historical Museum – Port Perry

Tuesday, August 13 - Leacock Museum and Historical Site - Orillia

Wednesday, August 14 - Visual Arts Centre of Clarington - Bowmanville

Thursday, August 15 - TBD

Friday, August 16 - Ingersoll Museum - Ingersoll

Saturday, August 17 - Silver Lake Park – Port Dover

Sunday, August 18 - Mann Raceway Plaza (FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre) – St. Catharines