The season will open with the powerful tragedy OTHELLO enjoying its first staging at the Festival during its two-decade history. In the 520-seat Mainstage tent, Dean Paul Gibson returns after a year’s hiatus (Romeo and Juliet 2007) to stage this great tale of jealousy and deception. The production will be reflected through the silhouette of the Italian Renaissance. Playing in repertory with Othello in the big tent is the deliciously farcical THE COMEDY OF ERRORS. David Mackay, who conceived last season’s hugely popular 1920’s version of Twelfth Night, will direct. This hilarious comedy will be set in the Elizabethan period with a tongue-in-cheek approach to all things Shakespearean. In the intimate 240-seat Douglas Campbell Studio Stage tent, Rachel Ditor makes her Bard directorial debut to stage the romantic drama ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL. Ms Ditor will give the play a fresh take by placing it in a Victorian setting where sensuous passions hide behind a façade of moral propriety. Rounding out the Studio Stage program is the great history play RICHARD II directed by Bard Artistic Associate Christopher Weddell. The first play in Bard’s 3-year THE KINGS History Cycle, Richard II will be rooted in the medieval period but stylized with modern overtones.

Shakespeare’s stories and themes still resonate across the centuries. In Othello, innocent love falls victim to jealousy, prejudice, deceit and betrayal. When two sets of twins cause villagers to see double in The Comedy of Errors, mistaken identities and merry misunderstandings result in hilarious chaos. In All’s Well That Ends Well a rejected bride uses determination and ingenuity to pursue her husband’s love. Richard II reveals how a king’s foolish decisions cause once loyal counsellors to turn against him.

Run dates and Special Events are as follows:

Othello – May 28 to September 25 (Mainstage tent)

The Comedy of Errors – June 10 to September 26 (Mainstage tent)

All’s Well That Ends Well – June 25 to September 19 (Studio Stage tent)

Richard II – July 8 to September 18 (Studio Stage tent)

Bard Expanded: Lecture Series – SFU’s Dr. Paul Budra gives insight into this year’s plays. June 14, July 5, 19, 26

Celebrating Red & White – Play plus Wine Tasting either before or after the show: August 15

Opera & Arias: Così fan tutté – Members of Vancouver Opera Orchestra & UBC Opera Ensemble: Aug. 31, Sept. 7 & 8

Western Canada’s largest professional Shakespeare company, Bard on the Beach presents its festival in Kitsilano’s Vanier Park adjacent to Vancouver’s downtown core. The productions are staged in open-ended tents on the waterfront against a spectacular backdrop of mountains, sea and sky. Performances run Tuesdays through Sundays. Evening curtain is at 8:00 pm, except Sunday evenings and in September when it is 7:00 pm. Matinees are scheduled on selected weekends and weekdays. Play ticket prices are $34.00 (evenings) and $18.00 to $28.50 (previews & matinees) including taxes. Tickets go on sale March 16. Advance booking is recommended as many performances sell out in advance.

The performance schedule and information can be found on the Bard website at www.bardonthebeach.org. For more information and tickets, call 604-739-0559 or toll free at 1-877-739-0559, or order on-line through the website.

Bard on the Beach gratefully acknowledges Season Sponsor: Starbucks and Production Sponsors: Vancity, RE/MAX and Jaguar/Land Rover Canada. Media sponsors are The Vancouver Sun and Global Television. Calona Vineyards Artist Series is Official Winery, Rogers Chocolates is Official Ice Cream, and Emelle’s Catering is Official Caterer. Bard also thanks the City of Vancouver Cultural Services Department, the Province of British Columbia, and the BC Arts Council for their support.

Monty Python’s Spamalot begins its month-long engagement tonight, Thursday, July 3rd in Vancouver, BC at The Centre in Vancouver for the Performing Arts. We’ve been waiting for this day since we first saw the Holy Grail… kinda.

Featuring a chorus line of dancing divas and knights, flatulent Frenchmen, a killer rabbit and one legless knight, SPAMALOT will next be seen in Edmonton, BC beginning Tuesday, July 29th.

Lovingly “ripped-off” from the internationally famous comedy team’s most popular motion picture, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, SPAMALOT is the winner of three 2005 Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Director (Mike Nichols), as well as the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for Best Musical.

The original cast recording of SPAMALOT won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.

SPAMALOT features a book and lyrics by Eric Idle, music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, direction by Mike Nichols, choreography by Casey Nicholaw and is based on the screenplay of Monty Python and the Holy Grail by Monty Python creators Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, with an entirely new score with two songs from the 1975 film and the Python classic “Always Look On The Bright Side of Life” from 1979’s The Life of Brian.

SPAMALOT in Vancouver, BC plays at The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts (777 Homer Street) Tuesday – Saturdays at 8pm, Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm and Sundays at 7:30pm through Sunday, July 27th. CA $69 – 89, tickets are available HERE, by calling 604-280-4444 or 866-542-7469 or visiting The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts box office (777 Homer Street).

A couple names that jumped out at me as I scanned the list of artists who will be performing were The Dave Brubeck Quartet and Herbie Hancock. But there’s a lot more than that going on at the ten day festival.

According to almighty Wikipedia:

The Festival grew out of a local jazz scene that centred around Vancouver Co-op Radio (CFRO-FM 102.7 FM), a community radio station, in the early 1980s. The Pacific Jazz and Blues Association was formed in 1984 and hosted the Pacific Jazz and Blues Festival, which showcased regional jazz and blues artists in addition to some international jazz musicians. By 1986, the group had changed its name to the Coastal Jazz and Blues Society, secured corporate sponsorship, and partnered with Expo 86 to produce the first annual Vancouver International Jazz Festival. The inaugural festival included performances by Miles Davis, Wynton Marsalis, Bobby McFerrin, Tito Puente, Tony Williams, Albert Collins, and John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers.

The Jazz Festival has been held every year since, becoming the largest such festival in British Columbia. Over 1000 volunteers help in producing the event, which includes performances in parks, community centres, concert halls, clubs, public plazas, and in streets of various neighbourhoods. In total, the Festival includes 400 individual performances, including 130 free concerts, and it draws 460 000 people each year.

Also going on at the same time, is the Victoria JazzFest! Check the official site for details.