Shakespeare by the Sea is a professional theatre company and registered society (Nova Scotia Registry of Joint Stock Companies ID: 2365312) in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Founded in 1994, it specialises in performing the works of William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

. Plays are performed outdoors in an amphitheatre

Amphitheatre

An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...

 formed by the ruins of the Cambridge Battery, an old military battery

Artillery battery

In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...

 in Point Pleasant Park

Point Pleasant Park

Point Pleasant Park is a large, partially forested municipal park at the southern tip of the Halifax peninsula. It once hosted several artillery batteries, and a well-preserved 18th century Martello tower can be found there...

, and occasionally at other locations. The company is funded by the government grants and private enterprise. Their main source of revenue is from patrons' donations, which makes up about 70% of their revenues.

The company was formed by the late Patrick Christopher-Carter (1945-2005), his life-long partner Elizabeth Murphy, and Jean Morpurgo. It has played every year in the park, performing three to four productions every summer.

In 1999, a family show was added to the repertoire using a theme from a classical tale. The tale is edited and improvised by the director and the cast to include references to modern pop-culture and geography. The family show is known for its lack of props, with only Styrofoam pool noodles being used to create such objects as hungry lobsters and talking magic mirrors. In the summer of 2005, the company went away from the Pool Noodle concept and transformed the family show into a musical, directed by Jesse MacLean, with music written by actor Jeremy Hutton and lyrics by Hutton, MacLean, William Foley, Kevin MacPherson, and Kate Smith titled The Adventures of Robin Hood

Robin Hood

Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....

. The show has since received a workshop production at the Toronto Youth Theatre, directed by Hutton, with new music and lyrics by Hutton and Kieren MacMillan. The company is actively planning another staging of Robin Hood, due to success of its two initial runs.

In 2005, the Canada Day

Canada Day

Canada Day , formerly Dominion Day , is the national day of Canada, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act , which united three British colonies into a single country, called Canada, within the British Empire...

 performance was The Midnight Twelfth Night, which began at midnight and concluded with the marriage of founders Patrick Christopher-Carter and Elizabeth Murphy. In 2006 Elizabeth Murphy and Jennie Raymond formed a co-artistic directorship to steer the company through a transitional year. In 2007, Elizabeth Murphy took over as Artistic Director.

In some years a one-off peripatetic performance is staged, using various local, historic sites and batteries as dramatic settings for the play. To date, the company has performed Hamlet

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

 at the Prince of Wales

Prince of Wales

Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...

 Martello Tower

Martello tower

Martello towers are small defensive forts built in several countries of the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the Napoleonic Wars onwards....

 twice, Richard III

Richard III (play)

Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...

 at the Sir Sandford Fleming

Sandford Fleming

Sir Sandford Fleming, was a Scottish-born Canadian engineer and inventor, proposed worldwide standard time zones, designed Canada's first postage stamp, a huge body of surveying and map making, engineering much of the Intercolonial Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway, and was a founding...

 Tower and at the Halifax Citadel, Henry V

Henry V (play)

Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to be written in approximately 1599. Its full titles are The Cronicle History of Henry the Fifth and The Life of Henry the Fifth...

 at the Halifax Citadel, King Lear

King Lear

King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...

 at the Halifax Citadel, Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar (play)

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...

 in the historic courthouse on Spring Garden Road and Measure for Measure

Measure for Measure

Measure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. It was classified as comedy, but its mood defies those expectations. As a result and for a variety of reasons, some critics have labelled it as one of Shakespeare's problem plays...

at the Prince of Wales Martello Tower.

Productions

2010 - Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, and Treasure Island (in support the 100 year celebration of the Canadian Navy)

2009 - Love's Labour's Lost, Macbeth, and Jack and the Beanstalk-Market

2008 - A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, and Cinderelly

2007 - Taming of the Shrew, All's Well That Ends Well, and Pinicchio

2006 - Much Ado About Nothing, and The Wizard of "Uh" Oz

2005 - The Merchant of Venice, Pericles Prince of Tyre, Twelfth Night, and Robin Hood

2004 - Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Richard III and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

2003 - Coriolanus, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Hamlet, and Peter Pan in the HRM

2002 - A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, As You Like It, and Alice in the HRM

2001 - Twelfth Night

2000 - Romeo and Juliet (in the U.K), A Midsummer Night's Dream, Julius Ceaser, Rosencrantz and Guildinstern, Fables- The Lost Forest, and Scotland Road

1999 - Taming of the Shrew, King Lear, Titus Andronicus, Waiting for Godot, and Jacob Two Two

1998 - The Little Prince, Richard III, Much Ado About Nothing, and Henry V

1997 - Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, and The Martello Tower Macbeth

1996 - A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Comedy of Errors, and The Martello Tower Hamlet

1995 - A Midsummer Night's Dream

1994 - Twelfth Night