Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival to Present ‘King Lear’

The Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival will present Shakespeare by the Sea XXXIV and Shakespeare by the Palms IV productions of William Shakespeare’s King Lear. Shakespeare by the Sea will take place at Seabreeze Amphitheater in Carlin Park in Jupiter July 11-14 and 18-21. Shakespeare by the Palms’ encore production will take place place July 25-28 at the Commons Park Amphitheater in Commons Park in Royal Palm Beach.

King Lear is regarded as “one of the greatest tragedies ever performed.” This year’s production is a Palm Beach County premiere, adapted and directed by Trent Stephens.

This year’s free, outdoor festival will welcome international artist Devon “The Sonnet Man” Glover for pre-show entertainment during Shakespeare by the Sea performances July 18-21. Glover is a teacher, rapper, poet, playwright, and actor from Brooklyn, New York. He performs Shakespeare’s sonnets through hip-hop as “The Sonnet Man” in schools and theaters across the globe. The other performances will open with pre-show exhibitions on medieval battle presented by the Society for Creative Anachronism’s Shire of Sea March. Pre-show entertainment begins at 6:45 p.m.

Performances start at 8 p.m. and run until 10 p.m., with a 15-minute intermission. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. Visitors are invited to bring a beach chair, blanket, and picnic basket, or enjoy on-site concession from Tropical Sno and Grilled Cheese Nation on select nights. Admission is free with a suggested donation of $5 per person.