Kentucky Shakespeare, the official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth, will launch its 64th annual free Kentucky Shakespeare Festival on May 29, with performances running through Aug. 11. The festival is held at the C. Douglas Ramey Amphitheater in Old Louisville’s Central Park.
“The 2024 11-week season features 62 performances and seven productions, all presented absolutely free to audience members,” said Matt Wallace, producing artistic director. “We’ll kick off the main stage season with a beautiful production of Romeo and Juliet, followed by the hilarious hijinks of the farce The Comedy of Errors, and Shakespeare’s magical final play, the comedy The Tempest. The season will again feature two weeks of rotating repertory in July in which all three productions will rotate nightly.”
In addition to the three main stage productions, Kentucky Shakespeare will present a production by their Globe Players professional training program for high school students, plus Shakespeare in Dance: Lady Lear from Louisville Ballet.
Late-night performances return with Late Night Shakes, a Shakespearean improvisation comedy show from the Louisville Improvisors and GLOBE Arm Wrestling from the Louisville Fringe Festival, featuring Shakespeare characters going arm-to-arm in a unique live theatrical experience.
The Kids’ Globe tent will open an hour before every performance during the summer with free interactive arts-based activities tied to the production, and various community groups will perform pre-shows at 7:15 p.m. nightly throughout the summer.
All performances are presented free of charge.
A variety of 60-plus food trucks from the Louisville Food Truck Association will rotate nightly throughout the summer with two to three per night, plus Will’s Tavern (a Brown-Forman Bar) and Will’s Gift Shop.
Nightly Schedule
6:00pm Food Trucks Open
7:00pm Will’s Tavern, Will’s Gift Shop, and Kids’ Globe open
7:15pm Community Pre-Show Performance
8:00pm Production Begins
Visit kyshakespeare.com for more information and schedules.
