shakespeare & company

This very professional theatre company puts on productions year round in a beautiful setting. In the heart of Lenox Ma you can see anything from a great Shakepeare play to a new and upcoming play. In the fall they host a Fall Festival of 10 productions put on by local high schools over a four day span. The Berkshires are well known for the productions at Tanglewood and dance productions- but this is a must go/see the next time you are in the area. Theatre at it's best!!

We attended a birthday party and magic show for the patriarch of our family. With over fifty people in attendance, Shakespeare & Co provided the perfect venue for everyone to celebrate!

Recently saw its a wonderful life at shakespeare in company. the theater elayne bersntein was very nice. The play was fantastic. 5 actors doing all the parts - and they did such a great job coming in and out of different characters. the sound effects were cool. Made me feel like I was actually sitting at a radio studio back in the 1940s or earlier ;) Would love to see other plays by this group.

Shakespeare & Company is a substantial and very professional local resident company that puts on a variety of stage productions throughout the year. While each year there are a number of Shakespeare plays there are others as well. We saw ‘It’s a Wonderful Life; A Radio Play’. Just five actors did all the parts and they were excellent! The play was put on in a newer venue, the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre. The group utilizes several other venues as well including outdoor performances at The Mount, Edith Wharton’s historic home. We had been curious about visiting the Berkshires for theater since it is a popular spot for the form of entertainment. You can spend a lot in the area at pricey hotels and B&B’s. However, with a little flexibility in your travel schedule, you can enjoy all the area has to offer at affordable rates. We had excellent accommodations at the local Day’s Inn for only $49 a night!

I've been a patron of Shakesprare and Company for 20 years. Not 1 bad show, and the best of them educate your mind and lighten your spirit.

The offerings at Shakespeare & Co. were varied, accessible and plentiful. In a three day period I caught four Shakespeare plays and one about the Bard (Will). The delightful young cast of Romeo & Juliet was thoroughly engaging. The New Orleans-based Midsummer's Night Dream was entertaining, and quite clever. For history buffs, Henry IV was a well-done production. Falstaff deserves particular kudos. Tina Packer's Julius Caesar was provocative. Very, very good. Next year, go see what ever she directs. You will not be disappointed. And the on-woman show, Will, was the perfect way to end my Shakespeare's comedy, tragedies and history marathon. Shakespeare & Co. is very special, it should be listed as a National Treasure.

This time we saw 3 of their Shakespeare productions: Julius Caesar, Henry iV (1& II, abridged), and Romeo & Juliet (at the Mount). Julius Caesar, directed by Tina Packer, was electrifying, especially in the first half. Reducing the actors to seven meant that each actor had to be constantly on stage portraying some character or other,and this added to the intensity of their portrayals. In the second half, however, this same technique led to some degree of confusion because seemed to be more people than one could keep track of.Still these ar top notch actors, and the words are spoken better than anywhere else.The idea of combining both parts of Henry IV int a single performance worked very well. It did make for a long evening (some people left before it was over) , but putting both halves together was very successful in emphasizing the change in the Prince's personality from start to end, and Falstaff was very well played.Romeo & Juliet; it was the cast's last performance after a 6.month tour of some 70 high schools, by a cast which did not include any great names, but which was well directed and provided a memorable experience. It was a lively portrayal, especially suited to younger audiences, but avoiding stylistic exaggerations. The first half was played with humor and lots of action, leading to the more passionate, heartfelt, and tragic second half. Presented outdoors, to was a welcome conclusion to a great Shakespeare weekend.

My husband and I were recently in the Berkshires and had an opportunity to go to Shakespeare & Company. Don't be put off by the name if you're not into Shakespeare. They have other plays as well. We saw Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. It was very well done. It's a small theater, so there's really no bad seat in the house. We sat off to the side and it was fine. The grounds are also quite beautiful.

"Shakespear's Will" is an incredibly acted one woman play based on the character Anne Hathaway, Shakespear's wife. The acting and overall production were superb!

Excellent performance, even though it is an adaption-i.e., the "director" combined parts 1 and 2 of Shakespeare's original plays. It worked-catch it before the season ends.

While productions and the starring actors can be hit-or-miss at Shakespeare and Company, 8 times out of 10 I've left the theatre with a smile on my face and a rave of one sort or another. It's particularly exciting to witness new talent being groomed for greatness through their education program. Summer wouldn't be summer without a trip to Shakespeare and Co. to see what this great company is up to.

Complete works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)An uproarious send-up of the tragic and comic (all spun into the comic) of the Bard's famous works. Three amazing actors cavort, mug, wrestle, duel, mock, joke, and pull out all the stops in an hysterical 2-hour synthesis of the famous and infamous plays/lines. We were bent over in pain from laughing so hard and amazed at the actor's physicality, the highly choreographed moves,a non-stop barrage of jokes, and hilarious literary and contemporary culture references made for a very, very enjoyable evening. Cudos to director Jonathan Croy and actors Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield.

We were pleasantly surprised by the outstanding performance at the Shakespeare & Company Theater. The entertainment was intriguing and kept us focused. It is a small theater with big theater performance. The show for that evening was also booked in advanced by Michelle at Gateways Inn. We had great seats and thoroughly enjoyed the performance.

We enjoyed the Tina Packer playhouse and the superb acting- especially Mid-Summer Night's Dream. Henry 4th was also excellent and I'm sure far more demanding for the cast and director

The infusion of New Orleans, its music and its traditions into the Athenian setting of "Midsummer Night's Dream" worked for us! The production was energetic and fluid. Double casting most performers melded more smoothly and believably than I thought possible. The vocal, physical and musical talents of all performers was most entertaining. Thus we experienced a delightful evening!