Shakespeare at Notre Dame is hard at work on a huge number of exciting productions and projects. Our future is bright... and we hope you'll be a big part of it. Read on to learn more.
Hamlet 50/50 Opens August 17, 2023
The Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival returns in August 2023 with Hamlet 50/50, a world premiere adaptation of one of Shakespeare's greatest and most iconic tales. This bold new production redefines the workplace of Shakespeare production and speaks to contemporary issues in an unusual and groundbreaking way. Directed by Vanessa Morosco, who adapted the text alongside Peter Simon Hilton, this innovative production model provides an entirely fresh and unexpected perspective on one of literature's most celebrated stories.
Read more about the 50/50 Shakespeare Project.
Hamlet 50/50 begins previews August 15, 2023 and celebrates its opening night on August 17, with performances running through August 27. First year Notre Dame students can attend the performance FREE with paid adult ticket; tickets on sale now!
AFTLS Returns Spring 2024 with A Midsummer Night's Dream
Actors From The London Stage, the campus-favorite touring group, returns Stateside in January 2024 with a brand-new staging of Shakespeare's immortal comedy/fantasy A Midsummer Night's Dream. Performing for the first time in the Patricia George Decio Theater at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, as part of the DPAC Presenting Series, this dynamic five-actor ensemble brings Shakespeare's delightful tale to vivid life. Don't miss this delightful night of theatre!
Tickets for A Midsummer Night's Dream from AFTLS go on sale July 5 as a DPAC season ticket add-on and July 20 as a flex option; single ticket sales begin August 14!
Scott Jackson Joins the Prague Shakespeare Company's 2023 Summer Shakespeare Intensives
Shakespeare at Notre Dame's own Scott Jackson, Mary Irene Ryan Family Executive Director, will be teaching Meisner technique and Mindfulness for the Artist as part of the 2023 Summer Shakespeare Intensive from the Prague Shakespeare Company. Click here to learn more.
Organizational Updates
- Kevin Dreyer has joined the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival as a producer this year, alongside Scott Jackson and Deb Gasper. Kevin is a longtime Professor of Lighting Design at the University of Notre Dame, and has a long association with NDSF stretching back to its first productions in 2000. Kevin has designed for major companies across the United States and around the world with reviews and award nominations from four continents. Kevin's work as a lighting designer has been seen in Chicago and around the world with the Joffrey Ballet and Ballet West. Welcome back, Kevin!
- We're also pleased to welcome Jennifer Birkett, our newest postdoctoral fellow! Jenny is a recent English PhD graduate from Notre Dame. As a student, Jenny was the recipient of Notre Dame's Presidential Fellowship and a Gender Studies Minor. She taught multiple courses including Writing and Rhetoric, Intro to Film, and Shakespeare and Performance. Working under the direction of Peter Holland, Jenny wrote a dissertation titled "Early Modern Drama and Terms of Endearment," and is currently turning that project into a book manuscript. We are excited to welcome Jenny to the team!