Shakespeare’s 400th anniversary will be celebrated Saturday in West Hartford’s Blue Back in an outdoor experience that includes performers from area schools as well as professional theater and musical groups.

Submitted

West Hartford is hosting an event to celebrate Shakespeare’s 400th anniversary. The event will take place at Blue Back Square on Saturday, April 23, from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Area high schools, colleges, and professional groups will be performing 10-20 minute scenes, monologues, and songs that celebrate the vibrancy, relevance, and expanse of Shakespeare’s works. There will also be a sonnet contest at noon, an insult contest at 1 p.m., and a Titus Andronicus cake for all to share. Guidelines and times of contests can be found on the website by clicking here.

Come and enjoy performances by Sound & Fury: Trinity College’s Shakespeare Players; Theatre Division of the Hartt School; Capital Classics Theatre Company’s Greater Hartford Shakespeare; and Kingswood Oxford. There will also be performances from students from Hall High School, Conard High School, Watkinson School, Miss Porter’s, local theater teachers, and the Hall High Choraliers.

The audience will enjoy scenes from “Romeo and Juliet,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Hamlet,” and “Much Ado About Nothing,” among others.

The performances will take place in a theater in the round at Blue Back Square. The event is sure to delight all ages and is an approachable and shared communal experience of Shakespeare’s work. The event is free to the public. The public is invited to come and stay for any portion of the event.

Many of the area retailers are offering specials to commemorate the day and event.

More performers and scenes are being added each day, so please check the website www.WeHaShakes400.com for the most current information, or click here for information also found on the Facebook page For questions or for information regarding participation, please email [email protected].

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