| Music Festival Name: | Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan |
| Location: | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada |
| Years Active: | 1985 – present |
| Dates: | first week in July until mid August. |
| Genre: | Shakespeare in the park theatre two full-length Shakespeare plays |
| Website: | Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan |
Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan (Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan Festival)[1] is a yearly summer Shakespeare theatre festival founded in 1985 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. In addition to productions of plays by William Shakespeare and his contemporaries, the festival's activities include medieval feasts, workshops, tours, art displays, special matinees, and a free community stage.
The festival was founded in part by Gordon McCall in 1985, launching with a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream staged on a golf course.[2] McCall remained artistic director until 1991, when the role was assumed by Henry Woolf, a British-born actor/playwright/director. Between the years 1991 and 2000, Woolf is credited as director on 16 of the festival’s productions.[3] Among these are several productions of non-Shakespeare plays, including Harold Pinter's Ashes to Ashes.
Woolf retired as artistic director in 2001, and the role was subsequently filled by Mark von Eschen. Having previously been involved in the festival in a number of roles, including associate artistic director, von Eschen remained in his post until 2014.[4] Von Eschen is credited as having directed roughly 24 productions during this period.[5] Will Brooks took up the position of Artistic Producer following von Eschen's departure, and remained in the position until the festival's 2021 season.[6]
On August 1, 2020, construction was completed on a permanent amphitheater for the festival, containing 250 seats and three additional buildings for use as a dressing room, bar, and box office.[7]
The following production history is sourced from the Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan website.[8]
| Year | Play | Director(s) | Theme or Setting | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Hamlet | Mark von Eschen | Elizabethan Era | |
| 2002 | The Alchemist | Mark von Eschen | Traditional | |
| 2003 | As You Like It | Mark von Eschen | Elizabethan Comic Book | |
| 2003 | Measure for Measure | Mark von Eschen | 1603/2003 crossover | |
| 2004 | Macbeth | Mark von Eschen | 11th Century Scotland | |
| 2004 | Much Ado About Nothing | Mark von Eschen | 1875 Canadian Northwest | |
| 2005 | The Comedy of Errors | Mark von Eschen | 1970s Disco | |
| 2005 | Romeo and Juliet | Mark von Eschen | Early Renaissance | |
| 2006 | The Taming of the Shrew | Mark von Eschen | Renaissance Era | |
| 2006 | The Two Gentlemen of Verona | Mark von Eschen | Pre-World War I | |
| 2007 | Julius Caesar | Mark von Eschen | Rome, 42 B.C. | |
| 2007 | Twelfth Night | Mark von Eschen | Age of Rock'n'Roll | |
| 2008 | The Tempest | Mark von Eschen | Mythical "Age of Dragons" | |
| 2008 | Henry IV | Mark von Eschen | England, 1492 | |
| 2009 | Mark von Eschen | Ancient Rome/Egypt | ||
| 2009 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Mark von Eschen | WWII Military Base | |
| 2010 | The Merry Wives of Windsor | Mark von Eschen | 1930s Saskatchewan | |
| 2010 | The Merchant of Venice | Mark von Eschen | 1940s Venice | |
| 2011 | The Winter's Tale | Mark von Eschen | Viking Era | |
| 2011 | Love's Labour's Lost | Mark von Eschen | Modern-Day University of Saskatchewan Campus | |
| 2012 | Hamlet | Mark von Eschen | Dream World | |
| 2012 | As You Like It | Mark von Eschen | Steampunk | |
| 2013 | The Comedy of Errors | Mark von Eschen | Indiana Jones Inspired | |
| 2013 | Macbeth | Mark von Eschen | 11th Century Scotland | |
| 2014 | Romeo and Juliet | Will Brooks | ||
| 2014 | The Taming of the Shrew | Johnna Wright | 1960s Doo Wop | |
| 2015 | Much Ado About Nothing | Pamela Haig Bartley | Post-WWII | |
| 2015 | Othello | Will Brooks | Modern Business Day World | |
| 2016 | J. Caesar (Written by Tracey Power) | Anita Smith | Post-apocalyptic 2416 All Female society | |
| 2016 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Will Brooks | Circus Themed | |
| 2016 | The Roving Show | Joshua Beadury | Devised piece based on The Tempest | |
| 2017 | Richard III | Skye Brandon | Set in the actual time of Richard III | |
| 2017 | Twelfth Night | Will Brooks | Bluegrass music inspired | |
| 2018 | Hamlet | Kelli Fox | A futuristic world | |
| 2018 | The Merry Wives of Windsor | Greg Ochitwa | Set in a present-day holiday resort | |
| 2018 | Titus A. Puppet revenge | Will Brooks | A bloody Titus with puppets on a second stage | |
| 2019 | The Comedy of Errors | Joshua Beaudry | Southern Floridian trailer park | |
| 2019 | As You Like It | Anita Smith | ||
| 2019 | pimohtewak | Multidisciplinary outdoor piece | ||
| 2020 | Macbeth | Will Brooks | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |
| 2020 | The Tempest | Yvette Nolan | Cancelled due to pandemic | |
| 2020 | The Tempest - An Online Reading Event | Translated into modern English and performed on Zoom | ||
| 2020 | Fireside Stories | Stories of Ukrainian immigrants and Canadian Indigenous people | ||
| 2020 | Staging the Future | Livestreamed opening night of new amphitheater | ||
| 2021 | Macbeth | |||
| 2021 | Cosmos | Micah Jane & Peace Akintade-Oluwagbeye | a collaboration between poet Peace Akintade-Oluwagbeye and musician Micah Jane | |
| 2021 | Macbeth: On Film! | Filmed version of aforementioned 2021 performance | ||
| 2022 | Cymbeline | Jennifer Brewin | ||
| 2022 | Shakespeare's Will | Roxanne Dicke | A one-woman show depicting Shakespeare's wife Anne Hathaway reading his will | |
| 2022 | Iago Speaks | Daniel Macdonald | A play depicting events post-Shakespeare's Othello |