Bard on the Beach 2027 season to include a ’70s-musical Midsummer Night’s Dream and a classic Romeo and Juliet
Juliet: A Revenge Comedy, Eddie and Will, and Shakespeare’s Will to alternate on the Douglas Campbell Theatre stage
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: The ’70s Musical debuted last year at Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre, with Luc Tellier as Puck. Photo by Nanc Price
Bard on the Beach. Photo by Tim Matheson
OVER ITS CLOSING WEEKEND, Bard on the Beach announced a 2027 season with a new retro-flavoured musical adaptation and a trio of works on its studio stage.
The song-filled A Midsummer Night’s Dream: The’ 70s Musical opens the 38th season at Sen̓áḵw/Vanier Park, adapted by Daryl Cloran and Kayvon Khoshkam—both of whom had a hand in the fest’s biggest hit, the Beatles-infused As You Like It. Filled with iconic radio tunes from the disco decade (think “I Will Survive,” “Stayin’ Alive,” and “Celebration”), it premiered at Citadel Theatre in Edmonton in 2025.
That production rotates in repertory with a more traditionally staged Romeo and Juliet from June through September next year.
In the Douglas Campbell Theatre, Vancouverites can see the Canadian hit show Juliet: A Revenge Comedy, Pippa Mackie and Ryan Gladstone’s irreverent feminist R&J sequel. The Monster Theatre production, which debuted in 2019 and toured Fringe fests across the country, finds the tragic heroine stuck in an endless tragic loop, imagining what might have happened if she hadn’t killed herself over the guy she met two days ago.
It will alternate in the same venue with the world premiere of Eddie and Will, by The Dark Lady playwright and Stratford Festival veteran Jessica B. Hill. This work looks at the complex relationship between William Shakespeare and his younger brother, mixing historical fact with creative fictional narrative. It’s presented in association with Toronto’s Necessary Angel Theatre Company.
Also on the Douglas Campbell stage, Vern Thiessen’s Shakespeare’s Will explores the life and inner thoughts of Anne Hathaway on the day of her husband William Shakespeare's funeral. The one-woman show opened in 2005 at the Citadel Theatre and has gone on to more than 100 productions around the world, including in Canada, the U.S., and the United Kingdom.
“What is particularly exciting about these works is they give us the opportunity to introduce our audiences to fresh voices, bold ideas, and different ways of experiencing theatre,” said Bard on the Beach founding artistic director Christopher Gaze in yesterday’s announcement of the more-than-usual trio of works on the smaller Douglas Campbell stage.
Season Launch Packs are available now until October 4, with more information at www.bardonthebeach.org. 
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