The 37th annual Shakespeare festival returns to the Pacific Northwest in June.
The 2026 Bard on the Beach Festival returns to Vanier Park in Vancouver, B.C., from June 9 to Sept. 19. The festival’s 37th season features a blend of Shakespearean comedy and tragedy with two unique adaptations of Greek classics.
The Bard’s mission is “to create transformational experiences through exceptional theater, training and education opportunities that inspire, resonate and promote the exchange of ideas.”
William Shakespeare’s works adapt into the world that we are living in now, be it the United States or Canada or across the pond. This is why a good number of Washingtonians get out their Nexus cards and escape to the Elizabethan-made-modern productions of Bard on the Beach.
The Mainstage open-ended tent allows actors to perform against the view of the city, the sea and the mountains, with seating for just over 700 people
The more intimate 250-seat Douglas Campbell tent hosts Shakespeare’s lesser-known plays, as well as Shakespeare-adjacent productions.
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From Merry to Macbeth
Appropriately, Bard on the Beach is presenting “The Merry Wives of Windsor” as a musical set in a Vancouver suburb where soccer is on everyone’s mind. The classic tragedy of power-hungry “Macbeth,” who descends into his reign of terror, runs June 11 through Sept. 18.
These two plays take place in the mainstage theater.
Tess Degenstein, who’s been with the company for three years and plays Lady Macbeth this season, said she appreciates the commitment of Bard to make the texts available.
“I love when I meet folks who haven’t seen Shakespeare performed, or even been to a play necessarily, but are connecting with the work done at the festival, feeling included in this big communal experience, watching the sun set, engaging with these timeless stories,” she said.
Jennifer Lines has performed with Bard since 1996. “Our soccer-themed ‘Merry Wives’ is full of joy, music and shenanigans, even a few dance numbers,” she said. “A unique interpretation of ‘Macbeth’ will keep you on the edge of your seat-full of drama and horror.”
Stephen Drover, who’s directing “Macbeth,” said that “outdoor—or semi-outdoor— summer Shakespeare can be remarkably fun. But it can also be edgy, challenging, provocative, inspiring and surprising. Don’t let the tent and the sunshine fool you—this is very detailed work that is precise, well-wrought, professional and informed by the passion of the artists who’ve created it.”
In the Douglas Campbell Theatre, everything’s Sophocles. “Goblin:Oedipus” ventures into patricide and more, July 5 through Sept. 19; and “Antigone” sets family against politics, June 30 through Sept. 18.
Lines said “Kate Besworth’s ‘Antigone’ involves a Greek chorus in the telling of the tragedy of her and her family. And ‘Goblin Oedipus’ is something entirely engaging and new and hilarious.”
But why make the trek across the border?
Worth the trip
Birchwood resident Jen Green’s lifelong love of Shakespeare’s work has always brought her joy, and she has fond memories of seeing “Much Ado About Nothing” at Bard on the Beach several years ago.
“It was such fun in the park setting, adding a touch of congruence with natural surroundings,” she said.
Green might have an insider’s view of Shakespeare. She grew up in Gorleston-On-Sea in Norfolk, U.K.
Ferndale High School English and drama teacher Mitzi McMillan Moore, who’s attended shows at Bard for 23 years, agrees.
“There’s nothing like seeing a work of Shakespeare brought to life on the BMO Mainstage with a sunset lighting up the gorgeous Vancouver skyline in the background,” she said.
Cordata resident Bill Fly has been crossing the border since the 1990s to attend the plays at Vanier Park. He particularly enjoyed the sold-out 2023 Beatles-infused production of “As You Like It” on the Mainstage.
The plays in the Douglas Campbell Theatre are a unique experience, he said, as the audience is close to the actors. “Sometimes they sit right next to you in the aisle as the play proceeds,” he said, already in character as the audience arrives.
Rebecca Northan, who’s directing “Merry Wives,” agrees. “Now, more than ever, we need to gather in person and immerse ourselves in a shared experience, in real time.
“Sitting among a group of fellow humans, taking in an ancient narrative, hearing collective gasps or peals of spontaneous laughter—these are the things that feed our souls and bring us closer to understanding each other and ourselves,” she said.
Complementing the plays, Bard on the Beach offers fireworks, matinees, pride night, pre- and post-show discussions and more.
South of the border, Shakespeare Northwest presents “A Comedy of Errors” directed by Susan Weingarten and “The Crow of Henmark” written and directed by Carolyn Travis—a twist on the tale of Hamlet, July 10 through Aug. 9 at the Rexville Blackrock Amphitheatre, an outdoor theater space in Skagit County. Performance times will be 7 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays.
Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth features actors ages 15 through 17 in “Much Ado About Nothing,” under the direction of Logan Hyer-Long, at 1 and 3 p.m. July 11 at Boulevard Park
On South Whidbey, the Island Shakespeare Festival stages “Macbeth” and “Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest,” a new play by Erin Murray, July 17 through Sept. 6 at an outdoor circus tent theater in Langley on 5476 Maxwelton Rd.
Mitzi McMillan Moore’s special memory of Bard on the Beach is from 2025, when artistic director Christopher Gaze invited her to come onstage before “Two Gentlemen of Verona” to meet his dog, Mason, who was in the show.
“While I often go up to Bard on my own, I never feel lonely. Canadians are so friendly I always wind up meeting new people and feeling welcome when I’m in Vancouver” she said.
Bill Fly added “Letting our neighbors to the north know that we are not their enemies nor do we want to take over their country is important.”
—By Margaret Bikman