Inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Aug 12 — Sep 6, 2020

While theaters remain dark, we are excited to share a socially-distant, self-guided tour in Forest Park with custom art installations and open-air performances. The 1.25-mile walk was developed by St Louis Shakespeare Festival and will feature artists from Painted Black STL, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, The Big Muddy Dance Company, Poor Monsters and Jazz St. Louis.

Shakespeare Glen, Forest Park

There is currently a waitlist: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-late-summer-nights-stroll-registration-112138611606

A free outdoor walking experience in Forest Park.

See the park like you’ve never seen it before on this 80-minute jaunt full of poetry, music and art. Loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “A Late Summer Night’s Stroll” puts you at the center of the story: four lovers’ escape to an enchanted wood and the magical night of transformation that follows. A socially-distant self-guided tour of iconic spots and hidden gems, featuring custom installations, open-air performances and charming vignettes.

Free, but registration required. Suggested donation of $20.

Times and Group Sizes

The 1.25 mile walk begins at ten-minute intervals between 5 p.m. – 7:40 p.m., Tuesday-Sunday. Groups are limited to ten or fewer and only one group can register per time-slot (you will not be paired with another group). Guests are strongly encouraged to attend only with members of their own household.

Guests ages 9 and up must wear a face mask or covering in accordance with the City of St. Louis guidelines when in attendance. 

For more information, visit to: https://stlshakes.org/

Beginning May 29 at 8 p.m., the St Louis Shakespeare Festival kicks off the virtual companion to the beloved SHAKE38 program created in 2012. For five years, SHAKE38 brought professional and amateur artists together to reshape Shakespeare’s stories using their own voice and perspective.

Recent national events are stark reminders there is still an exceptional need for stories about the full range of human experience–often joyous and kind but sometimes painful and unjust. The Festival is honored to bring this program back in a new form and hand the reigns of our online platforms off to the talented and diverse group of performers for each of these 20 nights

With the recent announcement that we are postponing this summer’s production of Much Ado About Nothing, we will be approaching the first June in twenty years without Shakespeare in Forest Park. Instead of going dark – we are resurrecting Shake38 as SHAKE20. 

20 nights of virtual Shakespeare plays for each night we would have been in Shakespeare Glen. You are invited to join!

Performances will take place every night but Monday, May 29 – June 20, 2020.

Go the Festival’s Facebook page (every night but Monday) at 8 p.m. and watch live. If you miss a night, each performance will be archived here and available for viewing at any time. 

Parameter: Create a 20-30 minute adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s 38 plays crafted for a live streaming experience.