Bottled Poetry & The Bard

Bringing year-round professional productions featuring the world’s greatest actors, directors, musicians and theatre companies, NapaShakes is working to establish Napa Valley as a major destination for classical theatre, with the highest-quality performances on par with the Valley’s unparalleled culinary, wine, hospitality and scenic attractions.
And NapaShakes is committed to fostering an understanding and appreciation of Shakespeare’s life, times and writings through fun and challenging educational and community outreach programs benefitting residents, students and visitors alike.
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Titus Andronicus: Breaking it Down

by NapaShakes Dramaturg Dr. Philippa Kelly A WAR: Titus Andronicus begins with the death of the emperor of Rome, right at the same time that Titus, Rome’s warrior, arrives home from a successful battle against the Goths. Titus brings with him as prisoners Tamora, the Queen of the Goths, and her three…
Measure for Measure + Dido and Aeneas: A Shakespeare-opera mash-up from 1699 takes the stage

September 27, 2016 | By Shakespeare & Beyond Sometimes characterized as a “problem play,” Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure was first performed in the early 1600’s and was printed in the 1623 First Folio where it is listed as a comedy. During the Restoration, many of Shakespeare’s plays were adapted to suit the times, and Measure is no exception. Playwrights deleted problematic characters, moral…
Shakespeare on Sleeping with a Stranger

“Would you have sex with a stranger to save your brother’s life?” NapaShakes Dramaturg Dr. Philippa Kelly’s cheeky take on “Measure for Measure” Would you have sex with a stranger to save your brother’s life? This is the question Shakespeare throws at Isabella, a Catholic novitiate, in the most famous…
Shared Passions: Measure for Measure & Dido and Aeneas

Both Measure for Measure and Dido and Aeneas dramatize the conflict between public duty and private passion. Angelo’s commitment to Vienna is tested by his lust for the virtuous Isabella, while Dido’s passion for Aeneas threatens her rule of Carthage and delays his destiny as the founder of Rome. Indecent…
This...Napa Valley

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"This Blessed Plot, this Earth, this Realm, this Napa Valley" adapted from King Richard II, Act 2, Scene 1 ("This England"), attributed to John of Gaunt by William Shakespeare.