Get ready for more naked Shakespeare in Prospect Park this summer

The versions of Shakespeare plays that get presented as free outdoor theater in New York each summer tend to be stripped down to their bare essentials, and never is that truer than in the shows produced by the body-positive folks at Torn Out Theater. The company specializes in nude productions of the classics: In its short history it has already offered an all-male rendition of Hamlet, an all-female production of The Tempest and a mixed-gender account of Aphra Behn's The Rover.

[Update: On July 10, Torn Out Theater announced that this summer's show will be delayed and will not take place in early August as planned. The company has not yet announced new dates.]

This August at the Prospect Park Music Pagoda, Torn Out will present its fourth au naturel production: an anthology called Mere Flesh and Blood. The show will include scenes from all three of the group's previous offerings, as well as excerpts from other works, including Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and Richard III. 

“Nudity has functioned very differently in each of our past shows, " notes Torn Out artistic director Pitr Strait. "The Tempest focused on de-sexualizing the naked female body, Hamlet focused on separating the naked male body from violence, and The Rover looked at how people of different genders treat each other’s bodies, with and without consent. With Mere Flesh and Blood, we’re hoping to showcase the many ways that nudity can reveal the essence of a story, and allow audiences to draw comparisons between the different approaches we have taken, as well as new approaches that we’re continuing to explore.”

Mere Flesh and Blood will be presented in Prospect Park for four days only: on August 8 and 9 at 5:30pm and August 10 and 11 at 2pm. Seating is first come, first served. Arrive half an hour early, set up your chairs or picnic blankets, and to their scattered bodies go!

The Rover
Photograph: Neal Bennington

The Rover
Photograph: Neal Bennington

The Rover
Photograph: Neal Bennington

The Rover
Photograph: Neal Bennington

The Rover
Photograph: Neal Bennington