Shakespeare in Love
The Isham Barn Theatre, Isham Family Farm, Williston
Thursday, June 11, 7.30pm
Friday, June 12, 7.30pm
Saturday, June 13, 2.00pm & 7.30pm
Sunday, June 14, 2.00pm
Wednesday, June 17, 7.30pm
Thursday, June 18, 7.30pm
Friday, June 19, 7.30pm
Saturday, June 20, 7.30pm
Tickets $30 ($25 Senior / $20 Student)
Love Takes Centre Stage: A Theatrical Celebration of Romance, Wit, and a bit with a dog!
Shakespeare in Love is a faithful stage adaptation of the beloved 1998 Academy Award-winning film, bringing to life a lavish, witty, and romantic imagining of how William Shakespeare might have found the inspiration to write Romeo and Juliet. Adapted for the stage by Lee Hall, based on the screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, the play blends fact, fiction, and theatrical magic to create a vivid portrait of Elizabethan London at the height of its artistic ferment.
The story follows a young William Shakespeare, struggling with writer’s block and the pressure of delivering his next comedy, “Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter." His fortunes change when he meets Viola de Lesseps, a spirited noblewoman who dreams of acting at a time when women are forbidden from the stage. Disguising herself as a man, Viola auditions for Shakespeare’s new play, igniting a passionate love affair that blossoms both on and off the stage. As their romance unfolds, Shakespeare’s own writing is transformed, and the lines between life and art blur into the classic that we know as Romeo and Juliet.
This production captures the bustling energy of the Elizabethan theatre scene — from the rowdy pit of the Globe to the politics of royal patronage — while celebrating the power of love to inspire great art. The play is filled with clever nods to Shakespeare’s future works, quick-witted dialogue, and a host of colorful characters including fellow playwrights, actors, Queen Elizabeth I herself, and of course… a bit with a dog!
With sumptuous period costumes, dynamic staging, and a script that brims with charm and intelligence, Shakespeare in Love offers audiences both a romantic adventure and a love letter to the theatre itself. It is at once a comedy, a romance, and a meditation on the enduring nature of storytelling. Fans of Shakespeare, lovers of history, and anyone who delights in tales of passion and creativity will find themselves swept away in this enchanting, bittersweet journey into the heart of inspiration, not least for the joy of traveling back in time as the Isham Barn Theatre is transformed into the Globe Theatre in the heart of Vermont.