Freewill Shakespeare Festival

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air.”

Did you know? Freewill have produced Macbeth three times: in 1999 along with Two Gentlemen of Verona, again in 2010 opposite Much Ado About Nothing, and the most recent production was our 2021 travelling show, which we also performed during the Edmonton Fringe Festival!

The witches in Macbeth really bring the Halloween spirit (or, more likely, the Samhain spirit). We hope you’re enjoying the fall season and are bundled up for the colder nights ahead. A warm soup (or prophecy) may serve you well!

This past summer, we were honoured to welcome some Freewill founders and alumni to our production of The Tempest in celebration of our 35th anniversary. Thank you to Chris Bullough, Annette Loiselle, James MacDonald, Troy O’Donnell, and Rebecca Starr for sharing this special milestone with us!

Many artists have made their mark on the Freewill stage and we’re so glad to continue Freewill’s tradition. What’s one of your favourite Freewill productions?

In over 35 years of producing our festival, we’ve had support from amazing volunteers who’ve helped make Freewill possible.

As we look forward to shaping the future of volunteerism with our festival, we’re looking to reconnect! We'd love to hear from you if you’ve volunteered with the festival, especially before 2019.

Please reach out via email at [email protected], or comment below, and we’ll reach out.

The year: 1990
The production: Twelfth Night
The set: Tires
The story: recounted by founder and current artistic associate Troy O’Donnell.

In our second year we invited Kelly Handerek to direct Twelfth Night. He designed an elaborate set but we, of course, had no money to pay for it. We trucked in hundreds of old tires to create a backdrop to paint on. It actually looked alright. Unfortunately, we didn’t realise that along with the tires, we brought in stagnant water filled with mosquito eggs. We had the worst mosquitoes in the park that year, and it was all our fault.

Read more of the Freewill story on our history page!

https://www.freewillshakespeare.com/post/35-years-of-freewill

🎭: David McNally in Twelfth Night

Across our many years of Freewill, there are still some Shakespeare plays we’ve yet to tackle.
Whether you’ve seen the canon or are new to the world of Shakespeare, you probably know some of these iconic plots and stories from the world of Shakespeare.

Which Shakespeare play have you been dying to see? Which Shakespeare play(s) would you like to see Freewill perform? Let us know in the comments!

The Bard is known for many incredible speeches, sayings, and insults. He also invented many of the words we still use today.

What’s your favourite Shakespeare quote?

“And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”

From the artists who built this festival in 1989 to the creatives who worked tirelessly to bring this year’s production of The Tempest to life, we are built on 35 years of creativity, community, and collaboration.

As we pack it all away and enjoy a much needed rest before turning our sights to 2025, our final thanks of the festival go to our amazing artists. Thank you all. 💙🌊

A heartfelt thank you to our amazing sponsors and community partners for helping us bring our festival to life! Your generosity and support mean the world to us.

Want to join our community of support? Reach out today and help us create something extraordinary together!

“Our revels now are ended. These our actors, as I foretold you, were all spirits and are melted into air, into thin air…”

Thank you everyone for joining us across Edmonton for our four magical weeks of Freewill this summer. We are so glad to have been a part of the Edmonton community and experience the joys of outdoor theatre with you all.

If you want to keep up to date with us year-round, join our newsletter list: https://tr.ee/u-xJFe0XeE

“That’s a brave god and bears celestial liquor!”

A big shoutout to Blind Enthusiasm Brewing Company for bringing the ‘celestial liquor’ to our festival through their fantastic beer selection, available when the doors open before the show and during intermission at all of our performances.

There are only THREE more chances to catch this delightful production: two today and one final show on Sunday at 1:30pm. We hope to see you there!

“the isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight…”

Our fantastic volunteer sponsor, Brew and Bloom, brings the beauty of the magical isle to two stunningly floral locations; downtown, and a brand new location on the south side of Edmonton.

If you’re looking to make a fun day while seeing The Tempest or hoping to make more memorable summer experiences after Prospera’s island disappears on July 14, we highly recommend checking them out!

An important update for July 10:

Out of concern for safety, this evening's performance has been cancelled due to the heat. We will be contacting those who have purchased tickets to issue rain checks.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us via our email:
[email protected]

We hope you all stay cool and inside tonight!

Prospera's Island makes its final move to the northwest side of Edmonton in the Sherbrooke community. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has joined us so far and to the wonderful audience who will be visiting us this week. Your support means the world to us!

Also, it's forecasted to be a warm one! We recommend bringing an umbrella along with your lawn chairs to help keep you cool and comfortable while enjoying the show.

The Tempest
June 20-July 14
freewillshakespeare.com

We hope you enjoy this holiday as a day to relax and get ready to join us on the west side of our city in the stunning Lessard Community League.

The third week of the festival will feature the return of Freewill favourites the Edmonton Ukelele Circle and Brittany Blommaert to our community stage, as well as newcomer Logan Gray. Check the Events page on our website for the full schedule of performers, food trucks, and more!

https://www.freewillshakespeare.com/events-calendar

The Tempest is in the idyllic neighbourhood of Kenilworth Community until June 30th!

Audiences have been loving this family-friendly production and we believe you will too. There are many ways to make the most of your time at Freewill, especially if you can’t afford a full price ticket.

Every Tuesday and Saturday matinee is Pay-What-You-Will for all tickets. On Sundays, students (from grade school to university) are offered $5 tickets to help make this a more accessible experience for you. Also, children under 12 get in for free!

Help us fill these hockey rinks with your joy and cheer by joining us.

The Tempest
June 20 - July 14, 2024
Visit our website for additional locations and showtimes.
Get your tickets & passes today!

https://www.freewillshakespeare.com/

“Here’s neither bush nor shrub to bear off any weather!” Don’t worry Trinculo, we’ve got you covered. Rain won’t stop this Tempest!

Tonight we will be sheltering and performing inside the nearby Kenilworth School (7005 89 Ave), so you can experience of the magic of The Tempest without also experiencing the rain that comes with it.

If you, like many of our patrons, enjoy the intimacy of Freewill’s productions and the chance to really connect with the story, this is an opportunity like no other to interact with our cast and crew and show them your support!

📸: Marc J Chalifoux ()
🎨: Jessy Ardern ()
🎭: Costumes by Stephanie Bahniuk ()

We’re 2 days away from opening and here to help with 2 things to know about Shakespeare! Thinking of coming to Freewill for the first time? Bringing a friend who’s never seen Shakespeare?

Our first piece of advice: Don’t worry about understanding every word! It can take some time to get the nuances of the 400 year-old English language, but the great thing is that you don’t need to catch every word to comprehend what’s happening. With a stellar cast highlighted by fun costumes, props and music, the exciting plot is really easy to follow! Also, the more you watch it, the easier it is to understand.

Secondly, Shakespeare was not meant to be read but rather created to be watched live! Apologies to all the English teachers (and fellow Shakespeare lovers) out there, but Shakespeare himself was probably born to illiterate parents, and he wrote these plays to entertain everyone from English royalty to the working class. That’s not to say that Shakespeare isn’t worth studying, but we highly recommend coming to see the plays live and in person. We promise it helps!

Learn more on our Shakespeare 101 page - your place for resources and information.

https://www.freewillshakespeare.com/shakespeare-101

The Festival is only 3 days away and we're back with 3 more ways to have fun at Freewill!

Join us for a variety of exciting activities and events throughout the week across all four locations. Check out our Events Calendar on the website to get all the details!

🤟 ASL-interpreted performances return every Thursday night (which includes our opening night)! We will also have interpreters available at the Box Office and Concession tents before the show and during intermission to assist with any communication needs.

💡Enjoy exciting pay-what-you-will workshops like ArtVentures recycled art, paper flowers with Unwritten Book Binding, and a Speaking Shakespeare workshop with our very own artistic director, David Horak!

🎶 Local buskers return to our community stage to serenade and entertain you before the show!

https://www.freewillshakespeare.com/shows