History
Shakespeare BASH'd is an initiative started in 2010 by James Wallis, Julia Nish-Lapidus, and a group of young actors who decided to share their love of Shakespeare and stake a claim in the Toronto theatre community by exploring the works of Shakespeare in a collective environment to allow different perspectives and ideas from the entire company to be focused together. The final performance product would be derived from their own experiences, thoughts, and understanding of the works of Shakespeare and the world they were living in now.
In December 2010, the group performed a staged reading of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet at the Wylde Studio in Toronto. They performed the full text, cutting only one line and the reading was well received by an eager audience. The reading showed the group the new and exciting ways that Shakespeare, and Romeo and Juliet specifically, could be interpreted to a modern Toronto audience.
Next the company tackled a staged reading of A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare at the Imperial Pub in Toronto. The company set the play in a fun, casual setting which showcased Shakespeare's text in a evening full of entertainment, excitement and, of course, beer! The goal was to take the stigma of high-browed Shakespeare in order to keep it simple and enjoyable but still approach the work truthfully and seriously.
In 2012, Shakespeare BASH’d presented a sold-out run of The Taming of the Shrew at the Toronto Fringe. The production was selected as one of the Best of Fringe and was remounted at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. Since then, the company has presented eight more sold-out runs, receiving much critical and audience praise: Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo & Juliet, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Macbeth, The Merry Wives of Windsor, King John, Hamlet, and The Comedy of Errors. In the spring of 2015 they remounted their production of The Taming of the Shrew at the Monarch Tavern, and this past fall they presented a sold-out staged reading of Marlowe’s Edward II.
The 2016/17 Season began with the company’s fifth and final Fringe show: The Comedy of Errors. It will also include a staged reading of The Changeling, by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley and a full production of Twelfth Night.
In December 2010, the group performed a staged reading of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet at the Wylde Studio in Toronto. They performed the full text, cutting only one line and the reading was well received by an eager audience. The reading showed the group the new and exciting ways that Shakespeare, and Romeo and Juliet specifically, could be interpreted to a modern Toronto audience.
Next the company tackled a staged reading of A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare at the Imperial Pub in Toronto. The company set the play in a fun, casual setting which showcased Shakespeare's text in a evening full of entertainment, excitement and, of course, beer! The goal was to take the stigma of high-browed Shakespeare in order to keep it simple and enjoyable but still approach the work truthfully and seriously.
In 2012, Shakespeare BASH’d presented a sold-out run of The Taming of the Shrew at the Toronto Fringe. The production was selected as one of the Best of Fringe and was remounted at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. Since then, the company has presented eight more sold-out runs, receiving much critical and audience praise: Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo & Juliet, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Macbeth, The Merry Wives of Windsor, King John, Hamlet, and The Comedy of Errors. In the spring of 2015 they remounted their production of The Taming of the Shrew at the Monarch Tavern, and this past fall they presented a sold-out staged reading of Marlowe’s Edward II.
The 2016/17 Season began with the company’s fifth and final Fringe show: The Comedy of Errors. It will also include a staged reading of The Changeling, by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley and a full production of Twelfth Night.
