Outdoor theatre returns

HALIFAX — It was one of the first rays of light this year during an otherwise dark time for local theatre when Halifax’s Shakespeare by the Sea announced it was holding auditions for one of its three scheduled 2021 summer shows at Cambridge Battery stage in Point Pleasant Park.

On Tuesday, the company posted a notice looking for actors to audition for the key role of Jim Hawkins in its planned family show adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s pirate adventure classic “Treasure Island.” The chosen performer would also join the casts of two other shows, Oscar Wilde’s comedy “The Importance of Being Earnest” and Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Last summer, the popular troupe had to cancel its summer shows due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and even when restrictions were lifted in June, with a 250-person allowance for outdoor events, it was too late to organize public performances for the rest of the summer.

With the hope that the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine and continued low daily numbers of cases will make a summer 2021 slate of plays possible, Shakespeare by the Sea revealed its triple bill on Facebook just before Christmas.

Current provincial restrictions now stand at 150 people, spaced two metres apart, for outdoor events, which will likely change for the better by the time summer rolls around. The company is already selling tickets for “Treasure Island” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” slated to start on July 1 and 8, and “The Importance of Being Earnest,” beginning Aug. 6.

All three comedies — chosen because audiences will sorely be needing to laugh — will end their runs on Labour Day weekend.