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Naked Shakespeare in the Park is back! We can exclusively reveal that the Bard’s tales are being swapped out for a different playwright’s work, though: The Rover.
The play will run from August 16 to 26, and it will be the first mixed-gender production from Torn Out Theater. The company was also responsible for prior nude performances including the all-male rendition of Hamlet and all-female production of The Tempest. The Rover, by 17th-century female playwright Aphra Behn, is set during Carnival in Italy, with the cast wearing Sleep No More–esque masks to indulge in a few days of revelry.
The production will be held at the Music Pagoda in Prospect Park, and tickets are not available in advance for the free production. Seating is first come, first served, so plan to arrive about 30 minutes early. There are chairs to rent, and lawn seating is free. The show will begin at 5:30pm on August 16,17, 23 and 24; it will be at 2pm on August 18, 19, 25 and 26.
The cast for the show has not yet been announced, but director Pitr Strait shares some details: “Our past shows have aimed to use nudity in non-sexual contexts, but The Rover is a play about sexual freedom and romantic relationships. Our production will still show nudity in non-sexual ways,” he adds, "with an exploration of the way that we do sexualize each others’ bodies.”
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