The Vermont Shakespeare Festival was forced to cancel its summer season due to COVID-19, so they have decided to bring their Shakespeare performances to you! They are bringing the bard to your yard!

As Shakespeare wrote, “All the world is a stage,” including your own backyard.

“Shakespeare to You is basically like a live telegram, so it’s a short Shakespeare monologue or a sonnet,” said Co-artistic Director John Nagle.

The Vermont Shakespeare Festival is a theater company that performs at different venues around Vermont primarily during the summertime. This year they would have been performing Shakespeare’s, The Merry Wives of Windsor. When COVID-19 hit, they had to improvise and so, that’s when they created “Shakespeare to you.”

You can order a performance for free to your yard, any outdoor area, or virtually by going online to their website, and picking a Shakespeare monologue or sonnet you would like to see performed.

Nagle said actors have performed for special occasions including graduations, birthdays, and anniversaries. However, actors can perform for any occasions, even if it’s just for one person.

Co-artistic Director Jena Necrason said Shakespeare to you is a way to stay connected at a time when so many have felt isolated.

“Art heals right and live performance is about connecting with other human beings seeing someone on stage that is reflecting your experience or commenting on something that you are interested in discussing,” said Necrason

The Vermont Shakespeare festival does plan to perform the Merry Wives of Windsor next summer in 2021.

For more information, click here.