History
Shakespeare WA was founded in late 2008 and acquired the rights to run Shakespeare in the Park, after the demise of (the previous) Deckchair Theatre Company and their relinquishing the contract to produce Shakespeare in Perth’s Kings Park. Where no local company was willing to take up the banner of keeping Shakespeare in the Park going, Shakespeare WA quickly and decisively acted to save the event. Within two months Shakespeare in the Park was saved from extinction with a hilarious A Midsummer Night’s Dream that was universally acclaimed by reviewers and enthusiastic crowds alike, and resurrected Shakespeare in the Park into a form that has larger audiences than ever.
Shakespeare WA laid down a benchmark when they created the company byline “Theatre for Everyone” and committed to making Shakespeare accessible for the wider WA community and for people of every social stratum. The company forged ahead in 2010 after the energy resource company Santos partnered us and provided the much needed support to produce an uproariously successful 1960’s The Taming of the Shrew. More recently in 2011 we produced a lush Renaissance staging of Romeo and Juliet to even larger crowds. Since Shakespeare WA’s inception the compnay has provided high quality, innovative, and diverse productions at affordable ticket prices.
Our dream of providing “theatre for everyone” is now becoming a reality, as Shakespeare WA is now WA’s largest non-musical theatre event, and has grown by 32% in the past 3 years. The company is committed to reaching both disenfranchised and marginalised communities: in 2011 we organized for Auslan interpreters to translate a performance of Romeo and Juliet so that the WA deaf community could enjoy the production; in 2012 we shall once again have an evening for the WA Deaf Society, and hold an audio described evening for the WA Blind. Most significantly we are committed to employing Aborginal artists both behind and onstage, including the forthcoming season where Caliban and Ariel will be played by Indigenous artists.
With the continued support of Santos and new sponsorship from Healthway, Shakespeare WA have now expanded their repetoire to three plays in the park for the 2012 season, as well as producing a Shakesperean operatic event with WA Opera.
