Photos by Cheryl Landes

Because of the ban on large gatherings from COVID-19, the Original Practice Shakespeare company moved all of its performances online for the 2020 season.

The company hosts free performances of Shakespeare’s plays in the original practice techniques of Elizabethan England: no rehearsals, actors’ scripts on scrolls, audience interaction, and an onstage prompter.

Each cast member has their own scripts on a scroll and doesn’t see the other parts. When they’re on stage, they’re acting their parts from the scrolls. No actor performs the same part twice, so every play is fresh, different, and packed with surprises.

Here’s the entire 2020 schedule. All times are in Pacific Daylight Time.

June

• Sunday, June 21, 9 p.m.—A Midsommer Nights Dreame
• Friday, June 26, 6 p.m.—The Tempest
• Saturday, June 27, 6 p.m.—Julius Caesar
• Sunday, June 28, 1 p.m.—The Winter’s Tale

July

• ​Friday, July 3, 6 p.m.—Henry V
• Saturday, July  5, 6 p.m.—All’s Well That Ends Well
• Friday, July 10, 6 p.m.—Much Adoe About Nothing
• Saturday, July 11, 6 p.m.—Richard III
• Sunday, July 12, 6 p.m.—Taming of the Shrew
• Friday, July 17, 6 p.m.—The Winter’s Tale
• Saturday, July 18, 6 p.m.—The Tragedy of Othello
• Sunday, July 19, 6 p.m.—Two Gentlemen of Verona
• Friday, July 24, 6 p.m.—The First Part of Henry IV
• Saturday, July 25, 6 p.m.—The Tragedie of Macbeth
• Sunday, July 26, 6 p.m.—As You Like It
• Friday, July 31, 6 p.m.—Loves Labour’s Lost

August

• Saturday, August 1, 6 p.m.—The Tragedie of King Lear
• Sunday, August 2, 6 p.m.—Comedie of Errors
• Friday, August 7, 6 p.m.—The Merry Wives of Windsor
• Saturday, August 8, 6 p.m.—The Tragedie of Hamlet
• Sunday, August 9, 6 p.m.—Twelfe Night (or What You Will)
• Saturday, August 15, 6 p.m.—The Tragedie of Romeo and Juliet
• Sunday, August 16, 6 p.m.—A Midsommer Nights Dreame
• Sunday, August 23, 1 p.m.—The Winter’s Tale
• Friday, August 28, 6 p.m.—Loves Labour’s Lost (The Gentlemens’ Show)
• Saturday, August 29, 2 p.m.—A Midsommer Nights Dreame (Abridged) (The Gentlethems’ Show)
• Saturday, August 29, 6 p.m.—The Tragedie of Othelloe (The Gentlewomens’ Show)

Watch the performances on the Original Practice Shakespeare’s Facebook page or YouTube channel.

Curious about the Original Practice Shakespeare’s performances? Check out my armchair photo tour about one of their productions in Vancouver, Washington.