How good does this sound?
Shakespeare's Henry V performed as a rugby tournament on the hallowed ground of Viking Park in Tuggeranong, with the audience dressed in the colours of France or England watching from the stands.
Well, it's happening. And the show will be free.
The rugby-themed Henry V is the latest production by Canberra's independent theatre company Lakespeare, which is dedicated to making theatre accessible to Canberrans.
Each summer, it produces Shakespeare by the Lake, a free season of Shakespeare performances in Canberra's open spaces.
This year's season of Henry V is February 15-25, seeing the company tackle (get it?) one of Shakepeare's history plays after previous staging four of his comedies.
It will include performances at Tuggernong Town Park and by Lake Burley Griffin, on the Patrick White Lawns, including the company's first night-time show, which, again, will be free.
There will also be Shakespeare Down the Pub, at Verity Lane Market and Shakespeare at the Hub in the Causeway Hall (both of which are ticketed events).
Lakespeare co-founder Taimus Werner-Gibbings is directing the production of Henry V.
He said emphasising its sporting analogies around England's King Henry V's decision to invade France had been an idea brewing in his imagination for the past 20 or so years.
"There are a lot of sport references in the play," Taimus said.
"He talks about tennis balls, he talks about Henry V being interested in sports before he sort of becomes more mature. It felt like an obvious link to make conflict relatable. That's how a lot of countries express their opposition these days, through sport.
"Also sport and Shakespeare are two of my favourite things, so I was wondering if it was possible to mash them up."
It doesn't hurt that England and France are rugby countries.
"I worked at the 2007 World Cup in France and the more I saw how the England supporters and the France supporters got on - and didn't - I really started thinking about it and scrutinising the text more closely and see what could be made to work. And a lot can," Taimus said.
The characters' names will even be on the back of their jerseys, "making it easier for people to follow the action" and tennis balls will be hit into the stands. But there are some serious themes amongst the fun.
"It's about the difficulty of leadership and the compromises you make when you're trying to lead - can you be inspirational and terrifying? How do you deal with your opponents and your team and the people on your team who try to betray you?" Taimus said.
For the Viking Park performance on the evening of February 25, the audience will be seated in the stands or on rugs on the oval.
"The performance will be on the grass, but right up against the grandstand," Taimus said.
The Viking Group was enthusiastic about the unique use of the park, he said.
"With their support and giving us the use of the stadium, they're our major sponsor effectively," Taimus said. "They saw the link and they also wanted to activate Vikings during the summer for the community and it was a nice fit they really wanted to try."
And people were excited about the season, with the company not staging a performance last year.
"It's been brilliant. There's a lot of talk on the internet and people are really pleased to see it coming back," Taimus said.
"We're still a month out and we've already pre-booked more than 2000 tickets."
The dates for Henry V are:
- Preview: Shakespeare Down the Pub, Tuesday, February 15, Verity Lane Market (ticketed)
- Shakespeare Down the Pub, Tuesday, February 20, Verity Lane Market (ticketed)
- Shakespeare by the Lakes, Friday, February 23, 6.30pm, Tuggeranong Town Park (Free)
- Shakespeare by the Lakes, Saturday, February 24, 4.30pm, Patrick White Lawns (Free)
- Shakespeare by the Lakes, Saturday, February 24, 8pm, Patrick White Lawns (Free)
- Shakespeare at the Hub (Causeway Hall), Sunday, February 25, 1pm, ACT HUB (ticketed)
- Shakespeare by the Lakes, Sunday, February 25, 6.30pm, Viking Park (Free)
- Free and paid tickets can be booked through eventbrite.com.au The link is here.
