BERLIN — Brown Box Theatre Project announced plans this week to return for a seventh year of free outdoor Shakespeare with its largest and most ambitious production yet.
The troupe’s much-anticipated presentation of Hamlet comes with a four-week tour to 17 outdoor venues throughout Delmarva, Aug. 31-Sept. 23.
Brown Box’s annual tradition will continue the company’s mission of delivering professional, impactful theatre directly to communities in an ongoing effort to reinvent the way theatre is created and consumed. In keeping with this model, Hamlet will transform public spaces throughout Delmarva into vibrant cultural and tourist destinations, marking a significant victory for accessible arts programming and creative spaces in the area.
A Delmarva native himself, Artistic Director Kyler Taustin was troubled by a lack of cultural opportunities while growing up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and has since committed his career to building up the artistic landscape of his hometown and beyond.
“Theatre shouldn’t exist in a bubble,” said Taustin. “Geography and cost should not exclude people from cultural opportunities.”
The company seeks to use performance as a way to reach new communities, share diverse stories, and spark conversation. Hamlet, Shakespeare’s pivotal work, delves deep into the recesses of human consciousness in a raw and unforgiving examination of a treacherous political landscape and one Prince’s struggle with the weighty consequences of action, inaction, pain, numbness, and the ever-terrifying unknown. Murder, treason, intrigue and betrayal culminate to form this harrowing and timeless theatrical masterpiece.
All Hamlet performances are free, outdoors, and open to all audiences.
Funding for this event is provided in part by the Worcester County Arts Council, Maryland State Arts Council, Delaware Division of the Arts, Salisbury Wicomico Arts Council, Talbot County Arts Council, and Somerset County Arts Council. These organizations dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive.
Brown Box Theatre Project’s constant goal in all programming is to bring down barriers that separate potential audiences from live theatre and to introduce the performing arts to the widest audience possible.