Bard on the Beach is a very popular Shakespearean theatre festival in Vancouver. It normally takes place at Vanier Park from June until early autumn.
In 2024 the festival celebrated its 35th season. This year’s productions included Twelfth Night, which is a romantic comedy, and Hamlet, which is a tragedy. Other 2024 shows included The Comedy of Errors and an irreverent, footloose play called Measure for Measure. This year’s season ran from June 11th until September 21st.
For the most up-to-date details, visit the bardonthebeach.org website.
Exact show dates for this popular theatrical event between June and September in 2025 are to be confirmed. Next year’s productions are Much Ado About Nothing, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare and The Dark Lady.
The information in this article includes the following topics:
Bard on the Beach Venue | Summer Lineup Program | Twelfth Night | Hamlet | The Comedy of Errors | Measure for Measure | Admission Details | Special Events | Tips & Recommendations | About Bard on the Beach | Other Information
Click on any of the above links to jump to details on a specific topic, or see below for all information.
Bard on the Beach at Vanier Park
The Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival takes place in an outdoor tent theatre every year from early June until the end of September. It’s a world-class series of Shakespearean productions that has been going on for over 30 years.
In 2024, the 35th annual edition of the festival ran from June 11th until September 21st. The Shakespearean plays this year included Twelfth Night, Hamlet, The Comedy of Errors and Measure for Measure.
If you like Shakespeare, then it’s a festival you won’t want to miss!
Bard on the Beach Venue
Bard on the Beach performances happen in the Bard Festival Site at Vanier Park in Kitsilano in two separate tent theatres. One is the 733-seat BMO Mainstage Theatre and the other is the smaller 240-seat Howard Family Theatre. Two productions take place in each theatre over the course of the summer, with the four shows alternating over different evenings.
Parking for the Bard is at the nearby H.R. MacMillan Space Centre at 1100 Chestnut Street. The cost there is about $7 (or at least it has been in past years) for the evening after 6:00 pm.
Click Bard on the Beach for the festival’s official website.
2024 Bard Summer Program Lineup
The 2024 Bard on the Beach program featured four plays – Twelfth Night, Hamlet, The Comedy of Errors and Measure for Measure. Details about each of the plays are below.
The season this past year started on June 11th and ran until September 21st. For full details about the 2024 season, see the Bard on the Beach website.
TWELFTH NIGHT
Twelfth Night is a Shakespearean love triangle comedy. The plot goes like this: Viola and her twin brother, Sebastian, are separated after a ship they were travelling in flounders off the coast of Illyria. Viola assumes a male identity (Cesario) so that she can work in Duke Orsino’s home. The duke, meanwhile, is in love with the Lady Olivia, who dismisses his advances. Viola in the meantime falls in love with the Duke.
Diana Donnelly directed this Bard on the Beach play where everyone is obsessed with one another. Music is what gets them through the day. This Twelfth Night production is a romantic comedy brought to musical life by local singer-songwriter Veda Hille.
Twelfth Night performed on the BMO Mainstage and ran from June 11th through to September 21st, 2024.
To learn more about this show, see our Twelfth Night, Hamlet & Other 2024 Shakespearean Plays article, or visit the Bard on the Beach website.
HAMLET
Hamlet is a Shakespearean tragedy and the Bard’s longest play. The story unfolds in Denmark where the king’s ghost asks his son, Hamlet, to seek revenge for the his murder. The king wants Hamlet to kill Hamlet’s uncle who in turn plots to kill Hamlet. The famous phrase “To be or not to be” comes from this play.
This masterful play invites you to picture yourself as Hamlet and contemplate loyalty and self. Hamlet at Bard on the Beach was directed by Stephen Drover. His adaptation aimed to be more relevant to the present day. The show played on the BMO Mainstage from June 13th until September 20th, 2024.
To learn more about this show, see our Twelfth Night, Hamlet & Other 2024 Shakespearean Plays article, or visit the Bard on the Beach website.
THE COMEDY OF ERRORS
This Shakespearean comedy centres on a case of mistaken identities. Antipholus and his slave Dromio travel to Ephesus in ancient Greece and find their long-lost twins (who have the same names). This meeting leads to plenty of hijinks, but all’s well that ends well, and twins and parents are reunited.
Directed by Rebecca Northan, audiences laughed and a travelled back to ancient times as Bard on the Beach put on its Shakespearean play. Audience members were encouraged to dress up in their finest bedsheet togas and sandals to enjoy the play! To make the experience more immersive there was a real “Greek marketplace” at the venue with local vendors selling artisan products.
The Comedy of Errors at the Howard Family Stage ran from July 2nd until September 21st in 2024.
To learn more about this play click Bard on the Beach website.
MEASURE FOR MEASURE
Another complex twist of a tale from William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure is the story of Duke Vincentio who deputizes Lord Angelo to rule Vienna in his absence. Angelo rules as an evil, manipulative tyrant. When his plot to manipulate a nun into sleeping with him is foiled, Angelo gets his just desserts and is punished.
In this Bard on the Beach adaptation, the story was set in Verona, a city that never stopped partying. When Duke Vincentio, who was responsible for enforcing the city’s morality laws that were going by the wayside, decided to skip town and hand the reins of power to Angelo, mayhem ensued. Angelo decided to make the unfortunate Claudio pay for attempting a move on his fiancee. The punishment? Put to death.
This irreverent play was directed by Jivesh Parasram and ran from July 4th to September 20th, 2024, at the Howard Family Stage.
To learn more about this production, click Bard on the Beach website.
Bard Admission Details
Single-ticket prices for youth (ages 6 to 22) start at about $30 each. Children under 6 aren’t permitted to most performances. Single-ticket prices for adults in 2024 started at $30 and ranged up to about $98 depending on the seat.
Season passes are also available online. They include seats to all four shows at one discounted price. Preview Packs and Regular Packs cost around $268, while A+ Premium Packs (with access to better seats) cost about $332.
For more information about tickets and pricing, visit the official Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival website.
Bard Special Events
In addition to its usual Shakespearean plays, Bard on the Beach also offers a number of special events each season. These include extra evening choir and opera performances, as well as exclusive Fireworks viewing nights.
Bard Pride Night
To celebrate the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, Bard on the Beach hosted Bard Pride Day on Sunday, August 4th in 2024. There were special activities to enjoy before the shows kicked off for the day. Exact details, however, were to be confirmed as of mid-June.
Family Days & Relaxed Performances
A special event that provides a way for all ages to enjoy the Bard experience happens during the Bard on the Beach season. Family Days and Relaxed Performances are when families can attend and enjoy various activities and a performance.
Dates for the Family Days in 2024 were July 14th and August 18th. There were family-friendly activities on both days followed by a performance of one of the shows.
The Relaxed Performance took place on June 30th this past year and featured Twelfth Night. On this day, the environment is more casual. Folks in the audience can make noise and move around without worrying too much. This is perfect for families with young children.
Tickets for Family Days usually start at $30 for adults and youth. Special pay-as-you-like pricing is available for the Relaxed Performance.
Bard Fireworks Nights
The Bard Fireworks events usually take place during the Celebration of Light Festival on the last two Saturdays and last Wednesday prior to the BC Day Long Weekend. There is live entertainment each day and private views of the fireworks in English Bay.
2024 dates were July 20th, 24th and 27th. This year, folks got to watch Twelfth Night or The Comedy of Errors prior to the fireworks. There’s also a dessert buffet and the option to order extra snacks and meals. Everyone is welcome to bring their own food as well.
To learn more about this event, see our article about Bard Fireworks Nights or visit the Bard on the Beach website.
Other Special Events
Bard on the Beach offers a number of other special events as well. Talkback Tuesdays featured question and answer sessions with cast members on Tuesdays in July and August of 2024. Wine Wednesdays for adults include wine tastings and savoury bites before shows. This past year, they took place on June 26th, July 10th and August 14th. The tastings cost an extra $55 per person.
There are also four Bard Explored sessions with Paul Budra, who talks about the plays in-depth and takes questions from the audience. Dates were June 29th (Hamlet), July 6th (Twelfth Night), August 10th (The Comedy of Errors) and August 17th (Measure for Measure). For folks with disabilities, there are also Accessibility Nights in August and September.
Bard Tips & Recommendations
Below are some tips and suggestions to help you make the most of your Vancouver Shakespearean experience.
TIP #1: Especially if seeing a show in the evening in early June, late August or September, dress warmly, and maybe even take a blanket with you. Vancouver can get cool at night, even in the summer.
TIP #2: Consider combining your trip to see a Shakespearean show with other activities in the area. The Vancouver Maritime Museum, H.R. MacMillan Space Centre and the Museum of Vancouver are all right next door, also in Vanier Park. Kitsilano Beach is also just down the way in one direction and Granville Island isn’t far in the other. The whole area is connected by the False Creek Seawall which is perfect for a pre-show stroll or cycle.
TIP #3: Unless you’re already a fan of Shakespeare and familiar with his works, consider reading up on the story before attending your show. Bard on the Beach is Shakespeare, with the original script written in Elizabethan English close to 400 years ago. If you read a synopsis in advance, it can enhance your Bard on the Beach experience and understanding of the plot and script.
TIP #4: If you have problems sitting comfortably for long periods, take a blanket or cushion to sit on. The seats are good and typical for a theatre, but some folks will appreciate the extra padding.
Click Bard on the Beach for the festival’s official website.
About Bard on the Beach
Founded by its present Artistic Director, Christopher Gaze, Bard on the Beach has been entertaining Vancouver audiences since 1990.
As a not-for-profit theatre, the theatre company employs about 30 talented actors each year, plus a large team of theatrical wizards working behind the scenes. Supporting the staff is an army of over 200 dedicated volunteers.
Since its founding, over 1.5 million people have enjoyed the Bard on the Beach shows, including over 90,000 spectators per season in recent years.
Other Information
For more information and to buy tickets, check out the official Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival website.
To learn more about this past season’s shows, see our Bard on the Beach Plays article.
Other articles that might be of interest include the following:
- Vancouver Shows and Events
- Vancouver Theatre Companies
- Lower Mainland Festivals & Events
- Vancouver’s June, July, August and September Calendars