The Dark Lady reclaims the story of Emilia Bassano at Bard on the Beach, July 3 to September 19
The first female published poet in England interacts with Shakespeare in Jessica B. Hill’s witty, complex love story
The Dark Lady. Photo by Emily Cooper
Bard on the Beach presents celebrated Canadian playwright and actor Jessica B. Hill’s The Dark Lady in the Douglas Campbell Theatre tent from July 3 to September 19.
The Dark Lady reclaims a story that was almost lost: that of Emilia Bassano, an intriguing multiracial, trilingual woman who was also a talented musician and England’s first female published poet. Is Bassano the “Dark Lady” of Shakespeare’s sonnets?
Witty and intimate, this production brings the two poets together in a complex love story about art, collaboration, desire, and ambition. This two-hander is full of charged dialogue and helps audiences both understand and challenge their love of Shakespeare through a powerful exploration of intimacy and legacy.
Directed by Moya O’Connell, The Dark Lady stars Arghavan Jenati as Emilia and Nathan Kay as Shakespeare. The production features original music composed by Anju Singh.
For tickets and more details, visit Bard on the Beach.
Post sponsored by Bard on the Beach.
Related Articles
At The Cultch’s York Theatre, wonderfully weird characterizations meet gravity-defying feats in a raucously unpretentious banger that has “hit” written all over it
Whether you’re looking for a quick drink and snack, conversation, reflection, or people-watching, these airy meeting places hit their marks
Playwright Kate Besworth and director Ming Hudson team up for a contemporary adaptation of the classical Sophocles tragedy
Cheeky, DIY theatre event aimed to throw light on the stage scene’s unsung heroes—and ended up selling out
The veteran theatre artist grappled with big questions of good and evil, and took inspiration from genre films, for his visually stylized new adaptation
Elevated visual design and a strong, multitasking cast bring ample Newfoundland warmth to new Arts Club Theatre Company and Citadel Theatre coproduction
Ashley Wright has helmed it himself, but in Bard on the Beach’s new production, he plays Shakespeare’s dissolute knight under the capable direction of Rebecca Northan
London’s Three Legged Race Productions folds in influences from contemporary circus to cabaret in a raucously funny show that celebrates a ’90s-style birthday at The York Theatre
Boca del Lupo and ArtstageSAN’s show at the Vancouver International Children’s Festival is more of an immersive experience than a plot-driven play
Megan Milton’s Free Kittens and William Rubel’s Robin Redbreast in a Cage converge on close human relationships in an age of reality TV and AI
The Arts Club teams up with Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre for new local production of the international smash-hit musical
Two senior artists play young Newfoundland couple in Western Gold Theatre’s gentle staging
Stephen Drover directs his own haunting adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy, laced with tyranny and moral corruption
Boca del Lupo returns to the outdoor stage in partnership with Korean puppet masters for five-metre-tall spectacle
Event’s top works from across the country and the globe leap between juggling, circus, art installation, concert, and more
Laugh-out-loud, music-filled production sets Shakespeare’s play in a fictional soccer-obsessed Vancouver suburb
The Vancouver director says there’s something “extraordinarily intimate” about Nobel Prize laureate Peter Handke’s 1966 “anti-play”
Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me But Banjos Saved My Life documents the creator’s retirement, cancer diagnosis, and pursuit of a long-deferred passion for music
Sharply funny shows by standup comics Scarlet Chen and Megan Milton get theatrical about themes of immigration and mother-daughter relationships
Veteran actors Craig March and Dolores Drake play the young lovers in David French’s play, set in a Newfoundland outport 100 years ago
Arnaud Hoedt and Jérôme Piron look at linguistic absurdity and educational inequity in their hit shows La Convivialité and Kevin
