Driftwood Theatre Group today announces their 2023 season including the return of Shakespeare D&D, and the final season of The Bard's Bus Tour from August 5-27, 2023 in eight Ontario communities including Kingston, Bloomfield, Peterborough, Oshawa, Pickering, Ingersoll Toronto and Burlington.

With gratitude to audiences, artists and company members who have shared in nearly 30 years of outdoor summer theatre, Driftwood Theatre will bring its celebrated Bard’s Bus Tour to a close in 2023.

“The past few years have prompted significant reflection about Driftwood’s history, legacy and long term goals,” says Artistic Director Jeremy Smith. “We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished and grateful to our partners, supporters and audience members across the province who have supported The Bard’s Bus Tour since 1995”

Driftwood will carry on with a new mandate in 2024, but before then The Bard’s Bus Tour will hit the road one last time with its most personal production to date: Living With Shakespeare, a love-letter to the poetry and plays of William Shakespeare.

Living With Shakespeare, created by Jeremy Smith and Steven Gallagher, brings Jeremy officially back to the stage for the first time in over a decade as he reckons with his life-long relationship to the Bard of Avon. Weaving scenes, passages, and music from Shakespeare’s greatest plays with personal stories from Jeremy’s lifelong relationship to the Bard, Living With Shakespeare is an exploration of our continuing fascination with the world’s most recognizable playwright.

“It has been a privilege to work alongside one of the greatest playwrights in the history of English theatre for almost 30 years,” explains Mr. Smith, “but all things come to an end. I’m so thankful and thrilled to be able to personally share this final tour with our audiences across Ontario.”

The 2023 Driftwood Theatre season will kick off with the return to the 2022 sold-out phenomenon, Shakespeare D&D: 2nd Edition. A live-play event of the world’s most popular tabletop roleplaying game, Shakespeare D&D: 2nd Edition brings together a cast of Driftwood friends for an evening of Dungeons and Dragons on a quest of Shakespearean proportions. Shakespeare D&D: 2nd Edition will take place live on May 15 at Toronto’s Social Capital Theatre, and streaming on YouTube.

Behind the scenes, Driftwood’s Beyond the Bard new play development program continues to work with playwrights Gloria Mok and Ahmed Moneka on their new plays, Diminished and The Onion Cellar respectively. In May, these artists will be coming together with the Living With Shakespeare creative team for Driftwood’s first-ever playwrights’ retreat in Picton, Ontario.

Tickets for Driftwood’s 2023 Season are now on sale online at www.driftwoodtheatre.com. In keeping with Driftwood Theatre’s vision of theatre for all people, all performances offer a range of ticketing options and Driftwood continues to offer Community Tix, free tickets to community members for whom the cost of attending is prohibitive.

Driftwood Theatre is dedicated to good people connected by great stories and is grateful for the support of the Ontario Arts Council, The Canada Council for the Arts, and season sponsors Ontario Power Generation and Deighton Associates. For more information about Driftwood’s mission, mandate and projects, visit www.driftwoodtheatre.com

Shakespeare D&D: 2nd Edition

May 15 at 7pm

Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth Avenue

For more information:

www.driftwoodtheatre.com

Living With Shakespeare

Bard’s Bus Tour 2023 Confirmed Schedule

AUGUST 5 & 6 (previews) - Kingston at Springer Market Square

in association with The Kick & Push Festival

AUGUST 9 (Opening) & 10 - Prince Edward County at The Eddie Pavilion

presented by County Stage

AUGUST 12 & 13 - Peterborough at Peterborough Museum and Archives

in association with the Peterborough Museum

August 15 & 16 - Oshawa at Ed Broadbent Park

presented by the City of Oshawa

AUGUST 17 & 18 - Pickering at Esplanade Park

in association with the City of Pickering

AUGUST 19 & 20 - Ingersoll at Ingersoll Cheese Museum

in association with the Ingersoll Cheese Museum

AUGUST 22 & 24 - Toronto at Kew Gardens Park

AUGUST 25, 26 & 27 - Burlington at Royal Botanical Gardens

presented by the Royal Botanical Gardens

More dates to be announced soon

Full Schedule: www.driftwoodtheatre.com