Tennessee Shakespeare Company’s (TSC) Free Shout-Out Shakespeare Series returns for its ninth season, featuring Much Ado About Nothing at 11 outdoor venues throughout Shelby County — September 27 - October 19.
Outdoor performances are free and open to the public — no tickets or reservations required; first-come, first-seated. Patrons are welcome to bring chairs or blankets for picnic-style seating.
Addtionally, William Shakespeare’s lively comedy of love, deception, and spirited banter will play indoors on TSC’s Tabor Stage for one half-price-admission performance on September 28. The indoor performance requires reservations by contacting TSC’s Box Office.
Directed by TSC Associate Artistic Producer Stephanie Shine, this 90-minute production of Shakespeare’s popular romantic comedy features a 10-actor ensemble.
The free outdoor series spans over four weeks, kicking off at Collierville Town Square’s Train Depot. The series will include a performance at the Raleigh Library for the first time, and then returns to LaGrange, TN, at a new historic house venue, Reverie.
Returning venues from last year include Bartlett Performing Arts Center (outdoors), Davies Manor in Bartlett, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Overton Park Shell, Overton Square’s Chimes Square Amphitheatre, St. George’s Episcopal Church in Germantown, and Wiseacre Brewery’s Broad Avenue location.
In Much Ado About Nothing, quick wit, overheard conversations, and intentional deceptions spark both comedy and momentary cruelty. Noble soldiers Don Pedro, Benedick, and Claudio return home from war to the Messina countryside and are welcomed by the women: young Claudio falling for Hero, while the spirited Beatrice and Benedick pick up immediately with their verbal sparring. Friends scheme to trick the sharp-tongued pair into admitting their hidden affections for one another, while darker plots of slander and false accusation threaten to tear Claudio and Hero apart. What follows is a tangle of wit, rumor, and disguise that ultimately is resolved in a festive union by Shakespeare’s malapropping creation of Constable Dogberry and his questionably-able Watch.
This sparkling comedy brings with it chilling reminders of what can happen when unsubstantiated reports are held as truths,” says Shine. “All the characters in Much Ado About Nothing eavesdrop, repeat information, and conjure falsehoods at an amazing rate for a society lacking modern technology. The consequences are just as deadly now as they were then: to reputations, to relationships, and sometimes, to lives. Thankfully, with love and laughter, truths surface in this otherwise happy world. They are embraced, leaving us all with a deep appreciation of just and caring communities.”
To view the full performance schedule and production artists, visit Tennessee Shakespeare Company.
Tennessee Shakespeare Company, a nonprofit theatre and education organization in Memphis, is dedicated to live, diverse performances of William Shakespeare’s plays, as well as works of social significance by classical, Southern, and modern writers; and to providing innovative educational and training programming in-person and online. To learn more, visit tnshakespeare.org.