LENOX, Mass. – Shakespeare & Company will stage an open-captioned performance of Romeo and Juliet directed by Kevin G. Coleman at the Tina Packer Playhouse on Saturday, April 22 at 2 p.m.

Ideal for audience members with hearing disabilities, open captioning features a large projection screen above the stage, displaying the text the actors are reciting via “super captions.”

Shakespeare & Company’s Accessibility Coordinator Natalie Love explained that the Company hopes to use these performances as a starting point for further accessibility options at all shows.

“We are so grateful for the opportunity to open our spaces to more people by offering our shows with accessible options, and hope to incorporate and establish these practices in our future programming,” she said.

The performance features the cast of the 2023 Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare, currently touring Romeo and Juliet across New England, New York, and Pennsylvania, including two free, community performances in Pittsfield, Mass. at the Zion Lutheran Church and Berkshire Athenaeum. The open-captioned performance and a sensory-friendly performance staged at Shakespeare & Company in March have been generously supported by a grant from the GKV Foundation.

The Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare’s production of Romeo and Juliet is part of Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.

About Shakespeare & Company

Shakespeare & Company was founded in 1978 by Tina Packer. Located in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, the Company offers performance, education, and actor-training opportunities year-round, and attracts more than 40,000 patrons annually with a core of more than 150 artists.