“A Shakespeare Happening,” a free play series that debuted in September of last year, is returning to Avondale Estates, this time featuring The Bard himself.
This iteration of the series, which takes place at Avondale Estates Town Green, will feature actor Benedetto Robinson playing William Shakespeare, who will narrate and help guide audiences through the story.
The series will not include traditional performances of Shakespeare’s works, but rather blend music, interactive moments for children, and certain scenes – or the “greatest hits” – from a particular play, according to a press release. Actors from the Atlanta Shakespeare Company will perform the roles.
The first show in the series will be “Much Ado About Nothing” on March 21, with festivities kicking off at 2 p.m. The series is produced through a partnership between Bard x Sage PR, the City of Avondale Estates, and the Atlanta Shakespeare Company, and sponsored by DeKalb County District 6 Commissioner Ted Terry.
The addition of a narrator is meant to help make Shakespeare’s plays feel more accessible.
“It’s a means by which to open up the elevated and sometimes perceived as distant text of Shakespeare for the local community,” Robinson said. “If Shakespeare himself helps guide the audience, he becomes a bridge to help someone who doesn’t have a lot of experience with Shakespeare really see this style of theater as not something alien, but as something universal.”
According to Atlanta Shakespeare Company Community Engagement Manager O’Neil Delapenha, during the show the character of Shakespeare will give the audience context about who a character is, why Shakespeare might have written a certain character the way he did, and more. Robinson, who has been working with the Shakespeare Tavern since 2021, did a lot of research for the role, including studying up on West Country English speech patterns to make the role as authentic as possible.
“Finding a way to mold the highfalutin way of speech with something that we can understand has been really fun for me,” he said.
In light of the Trump administration’s decision last year to cut National Endowment for the Arts funding, organizers wanted to create a safe, free space where local families could experience art together.
“As a kid from a small town, the opportunity for some of these folks out over in Avondale that may not have visited the theater … to see that in a space that is separate from any of the sort of social constructs around the theater experience – you have to buy a ticket, you have to dress up – you don’t need to do all of that,” Robinson said. “You just get to go and experience it and maybe you get to learn that it’s not so alien.”
“Much Ado About Nothing” will play on March 21, while April 18 will feature “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and May 23 will feature “Romeo and Juliet.” Each event will start with music at 2 p.m., an interactive children’s moment at 2:30 p.m., and the show at 4 p.m.