Shakespeare by the Sea, Halifax
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Shakespeare by the Sea is a theatre company in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Founded in 1994, it specialises in Shakespeare, which it performs outdoors, in an amphitheatre formed by the ruins of an old military battery in Point Pleasant Park. They are funded by government and private enterprise. Their main source of revenue is from their patrons donations which makes up about 70% of their revenues.
The company was formed by Patrick Christopher Carter, Elizabeth Murphy and Jean Morpurgo. It has played every year in the park, performing on average four plays, usually by Shakespeare, 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. To date the company has produced JACOB TWO TWO MEETS THE HOODED FANG, ALICE IN THE H.R.M., PETER PAN IN THE H.R.M. and SNOW WHITE.
In some years a one-of peripatetic performance is staged, using various local, historic sites and batteries as dramatic settings for the play. To date the company has performed HAMLET at the Prince of Wales Martello Tower twice, RICHARD III at the Sir Sandford Fleming Tower and at the Halifax Citadel, HENRY V at the Halifax Citadel, KING LEAR at the Halifax Citadel, JULIUS CAESAR in the historic courthouse on Spring Garden Road and MEASURE FOR MEASURE at the Prince of Wales Martello Tower.
This article submitted by the founding General Manager of Shakespeare by the Sea.