Theatre
Comedy
Musical
A raucous 'rockabilly retelling' of Shakespeare's tale of love, mischief and mistaken identity by New Zealand's infamous and award-winning garden bards!
See tickets below
Ōtautahi | Christchurch
Settle in for a time of family-friendly magic with a raucous 'rockabilly retelling' of The Bard's tale of love, mischief and mistaken identity, directed by Laura Irish.
The Barden Party's six brave actors will navigate the intertwining tales of Beatrice and Benedick, and Hero and Claudio, as they fall in love and fight and reunite by peppering the story with excess silliness and pop songs fused into mostly country, folk and bluegrass-style creations with some 1950s flair. The show features reimagined songs from Billy Joel, The B-52s and Outkast – all performed lives and arranged by London-based musical director Jake Robinson.
Born in a Nelson backyard during the height of the pandemic as a way of bringing joy and laughter safely to people’s homes, The Barden Party performances quickly sold out across the country last year with their rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It picked up a number of awards and accolades along the way, including the Dunedin Fringe Excellence Award of 2022, and then was performed across eight states in the USA. The Barden Party are excited to return to Dunedin Fringe with their newest creation of Shakespearean silliness. They usually perform private shows in backyards across New Zealand, so Dunedin Fringe is a wonderful time to experience the public show version of their performance.
Unlike any other Shakespeare performance you may have seen in the past, The Barden Party offers a truly authentic vintage theatre experience with a modern twist, operating as a travelling troupe just as was done hundreds of years ago. They carry all of their props and set with them, and are able to adapt their performance to suit a wide variety of spaces. They arrive at backyards, gardens, and public venues, and quickly transform them into a world of dukes, soldiers and lovers with mischief and laughter aplenty.
"Shakespeare would be loving this." - Greymouth Audience M<
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