A Midsummer Night's Dream U.S. Premiere!
VIRGINIA ARTS FESTIVAL PRESENTS
THE HANDLEBARDS
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
U.S. PREMIERE!
Norfolk, VA - May is National Bike Month and the Virginia Arts Festival is celebrating big with The HandleBards in their U.S. debut! This lively troupe crisscrosses Britain on bikes, taking Shakespeare’s classics to farmers’ fields and village greens—and now brings them to an unexpected spot near you, May 15 – 22. All shows are free and open to the public; additional information including the full schedule below can be found at vafest.org or Virginia Arts Festival facebook page @VaArtsFest. This event is supported in part by Pedego Electric Bikes Norfolk.
A cast of four men play all the parts of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, hauling their props and costumes on their bikes (and even using a pedaled bike to draw the curtain). You’ll never think of Shakespeare the same way again! “Consistently hilarious…the audience was crying with laughter. It’s not often that a production is both crackers and cracking, but the HandleBards have a foot set firmly in each camp” (The Press, York, United Kingdom).
WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 5:30PM
WATERSIDE DISTRICT’S BLUE MOON STAGE, NORFOLK*
FRIDAY, MAY 17, 6:30PM
IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY THE NEON’S GLOW RIDE, 8:30PM
THE PLOT, NORFOLK
For more information on the NEON’s Glow Ride, visit
norfolkbikemonth.com.
SATURDAY, MAY 18, 12PM
OCEAN VIEW BEACH PARK, NORFOLK
PRE-SHOW RIDE FROM MACARTHUR SQUARE IN DOWNTOWN NORFOLK HOSTED BY SOCIAL CYCLING NORFOLK, 10:00 AM
SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2PM
SANDLER CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS,OUTDOOR PLAZA, VIRGINIA BEACH*
TUESDAY, MAY 21, 6:30PM
PORTSMOUTH ARTS & CULTURAL CENTER
WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 6:30PM
VIRGINIA ARTS FESTIVAL COURTYARD*
PRE-SHOW RIDE FROM THE BIRCH IN WEST GHENT HOSTED BY SOCIAL CYCLING NORFOLK, 6:00 PM
For more information on the pre-show ride, visit
norfolkbikemonth.com.
Gates open one hour prior to each performance. Individual lawn chairs and blankets encouraged. No seating provided by venue.
*In case of rain, event will move indoors.
** Food and drinks available for purchase.
About the Virginia Arts Festival
Since 1997, the Virginia Arts Festival has transformed the cultural scene in southeastern Virginia, presenting great performers from around the world to local audiences and making this historic, recreation-rich region a cultural destination for visitors from across the United States and around the world. The Festival has presented numerous U.S. and regional premieres, and regularly commissions new works of music, dance, and theater from some of today’s most influential composers, choreographers and playwrights. The Festival’s arts education programs reach tens of thousands of area schoolchildren each year through student matinees, in-school performances, artists’ residencies, master classes and demonstrations.
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